NAFTA

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N.A.F.T.A. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect January 1, 1994. It is a trade agreement between all three of countries of North America, which are The United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, the Mexican President, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and former U.S. President George H. Bush spearheaded the agreement. Relationships between the countries were already on good terms, especially between The United States and Canada. Five years before NAFTA went into effect they signed the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement that eliminated all tariffs. It was only time before a more integrated agreement was put into effect for all of North America. The geographic location and the already established trade of goods and services made NAFTA a logical decision. Most trade agreements are created for the elimination of tariffs between the specified countries, but NAFTA is an exception. It covers market access, such as phasing out tariffs over a 15-year period and the rules of origin. The rule of origin states that goods and services must originate in one of the North American countries to receive access to the lower tariffs. NAFTA also covers trade rules, services, the removal of investment restrictions, and the protection of intellectual property like patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Lastly, a dispute settlement process was established, which is critical in solving problems between the countries before they cause serious problems. NAFTA also had special provisions embedded into the agreement to please the strongly opinionated labor unions and environmentalists. Former President Bill Clinton implemented two side-treaties, The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperati... ... middle of paper ... ...o's trade with the European Union has dropped 3% over the course of seven years. The thought of losing national sovereignty is a major problem between the three countries, especially for Canada. Canada is already stuck exporting an abundance of energy to America when they could use it and now their clean water supply is on the trading block. At this pace NAFTA will create one super-country, rather than three separate entities. Future Since before NAFTA was even created, discussions about trade agreements among North, Central, and South America were on the table. The United States would like to pull them together to form a super trading enterprise call the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). It would fall somewhere between a regular free trade agreement and the European Union. Negotiations are slow, but many remain hopeful that it can be accomplished.

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