NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

North American Free Trade Agreement
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"NAFTA" is also an abbreviation for the New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement; see also Nafta.

NAFTA Initialing Ceremony, October 1992.
From left to right: (Standing) Mexican President Salinas, US President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney
(Seated) Jaime Serra Puche, Carla Hills, Michael Wilson.
Source: George Bush Presidential Library and MuseumThe North American Free Trade Agreement, known usually as NAFTA, is a free trade agreement among Canada, the United States, and Mexico. NAFTA went into effect on January 1, 1994. NAFTA is also used to refer to the tripartite trading bloc of North American countries.

NAFTA called for immediately eliminating duties on half of all U.S. goods shipped to Mexico and gradually phasing out other tariffs over a period of about 14 years. Restrictions were to be removed from many categories, including motor vehicles and automotive parts, computers, textiles, and agriculture. The treaty also protected intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights, and trademarks) and outlined the removal of restrictions on investment among the three countries. Provisions regarding worker and environmental protection were added later as a result of supplemental agreements signed in 1993. This agreement was an expansion of the earlier Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement of 1989. Unlike the European Union, NAFTA does not create a set of supranational governmental bodies, nor does it create a body of law which is superior to national law. NAFTA is a treaty under international law. (Under United States law it is classed as a congressional-executive agreement rather than a treaty, reflecting a peculiar sense of the term "treaty" in United States constitutional law that is not followed by international law or the laws of other states.)

The agreement was initially pursued by free-trade conservative governments in the US and Canada, led by Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and US President George H. W. Bush. There was considerable opposition on both sides of the border, but in the United States it was able to secure passage after President Bill Clinton made its passage a major legislative initiative in 1993. After intense political debate and the negotiation of several side agreements, the US House passed NAFTA by 234-200 (132 Republicans and 102 Democrats voting in favor) and the US Senate passed it by 61-38. Some opposition persists to the present day, although labour unions in Canada have recently removed objections to the agreement from their platforms.


Official Emblem The United States and Canada have been arguing for years over the United States' decision to impose a 27% duty on Canadian softwood lumber imports. Canada has filed numerous motions to have the duty eliminated and the collected duties returned to Canada. Canada has won every case brought before the NAFTA tribunal, the last being on August 10, 2005. The United States responded by saying "We are, of course, disappointed with the [NAFTA panel's] decision, but it will have no impact on the anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders," (Neena Moorjani, spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman). The failure of the U.S. to adhere to the terms of the treaty has generated widespread political debate in Canada. The debate includes imposing countervailing duties on American products, and possibly shutting off all or some energy shipments, such as natural gas.

Those who outlined NAFTA wanted North America to be like the EU. Free trade between the US, Canada and Mexico. It was hoped that it would spur the economies of all three countries and maybe there wouldn't be so many Mexicans crossing our borders to find better jobs. But as we have seen, they are still pouring across the border. OH! And something else I heard on the news while in the hospital, Mexican military have been crossing the border and engaging the border guards. Now, if we can't keep the Mexicans or their military out of our borders, how are we going to prevent another terrorist attack? Like I said one day in college and caused an uproar, if they can't stop drugs from coming in, how can they stop illegal guns from coming into the country. Our borders are like a sieve.