FIGURES POINT TO INCREASED EXPORTS BECAUSE OF NAFTA

The president of Poly Systems Inc. of Steelville, says passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement helped the company land a work contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that will exceed $250 million this year.

Lower tariffs due to NAFTA have allowed Poly Systems to obtain piping from Canada at a more affordable price, said the Poly Systems president, Jerry Levingston.

Missouri's exports to Mexico increased from $83 million during the first quarter of 1993 to almost $129 million in the first quarter of 1994. The state's top export to Mexico -- agricultural products -- experienced a 121 percent increase during that period.

Charles Kruse of Dexter, president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, praised NAFTA during a recent Farm Bureau meeting in Cape Girardeau County. "Missouri farmers are seeing and will see more positive benefits from this bill," said Kruse. "We're a good fit for the Mexican market."

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson of Cape Girardeau supported the measure,

"The NAFTA vote was not the most popular vote I've ever cast," said Emerson, a Republican who visited Mexico the month before the vote was taken. "But I believe most sincerely it was the right vote, and I am proud to have voted for it. I'm pleased to see many of the benefits that were predicted now being realized."

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce favored NAFTA. "To date, we're happy with what is happening," said John Mehner, chamber president.

Two Southern Illinois lawmakers -- Democrats Glenn Poshard of the 19th District and Jerry Costello of the 12th -- voted against NAFTA

Poshard said some of his concerns with the agreement have happened, including Mexico devaluing the peso and jobs being lost in some sectors. But he said some constructive things also have happened.

Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar's office said Mexico is "one of the most important and fastest-growing markets for Illinois exports. The state's exports to Mexico increased from $288 million during the first quarter of 1993, to $437 million for the same period in 1994. The state's top imports to Mexico were industrial machinery and computer equipment, which increased 76 percent.

Congress approved NAFTA last fall by a vote of 61-38 in the Senate and 234-200 in the House. The U.S. business community supported NAFTA, saying it enabled the U.S. to open markets and create opportunity. A half-dozen national farm groups supported NAFTA.

During the first half of 1994, U.S. exports to Mexico were up 17 percent over 1993 numbers. Exports to Canada during the period were up 10 percent over last year.

At the current rate, U.S. exports to Mexico will total $48.9 billion this year, up $7.3 billion from 1993. The U.S. trade surplus with Mexico is growing and should exceed a record $2.1 billion this year.

That information and more is included in a recently released document highlighting the benefits of NAFTA to the overall U.S. economy.

"NAFTA: It's Working for America" is a 64-page booklet that cites facts and figures relating to benefits realized in a variety of sectors. It provides data on the benefits of NAFTA for each of the 50 states. Job losses feared by some have not happened. Numbers included reveal that increased exports to Mexico and Canada could support 100,000 new U.S. jobs in 1994.

NAFTA has helped U.S. manufacturers and farmers sell more to Mexico.

Statistics from the Massachusetts Institute for Social and Economic Research show, for example:

-- Transportation equipment exports are up 29 percent.

-- Stone, clay and glass product exports are up 34.2 percent.

-- Fabricated metal products are up 31.5 percent.

-- Rubber and plastic exports are up 33.6 percent.

-- Printing and publishing products are up 22.9 percent and forestry products are up 27.9 percent.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, show:

-- Fresh fruit exports are up 78 percent.

-- Beef and veal products are up 54 percent.

-- Corn (feed grain) is up 47.1 percent.

-- Pork exports are up 45 percent.

In autos, the Big Three's exports to Mexico are accelerating dramatically. They shipped 24,000 vehicles in the first seven months of 1994, compared with 4,000 for all of last year. Chrysler is hiring 1,000 U.S. workers to build its first Jeeps for Mexico's market. GM and Ford are also adding jobs for exports to Mexico.