NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (NAFTA)

by Ted Peterson
The North American Free Trade Agreement (called NAFTA) is an agreement signed on January 1, 1994 between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
When the United States, Canada and Mexico signed NAFTA, the United State and Canada had an agreement in place called United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). The two countries added this agreement into NAFTA. Because of CFTA, some of the agricultural trade will take place before NAFTA. Most food products between the U. S. and Canada became duty free on Jan 1, 1998.
Most of NAFTA sections were over agricultural trade between the three countries.
Implementation of the NAFTA started to begin on Jan, 1,1994 and will be completed in 15 years. This agreement will remove most barriers to all trade and investment among the 3 different countries.
This agreement removes all nontariff barriers to agricultural trade between the 3 countries. The limits on agricultural items will take from 5-15 years and the agreement between US and Canada on agricultural will be eliminated by Jan 1, 2008, with a very few exceptions.
On Dec. 2002 the restrictions on Mexican over the road truck drivers and trucks on US roads was lifted. They can travel all over the US after a safety check.
The main groups that are opposed to NAFTA are the US Labor Unions. They say that lower price labor scale of Mexican people will take jobs from their members.
Before NAFTA, Mexico imported less then 1% of their autos from the US. Now because of lower rates, they inport more then 11%. This is one example of what it has done.
Between 1993 to 2000 the value of US food exports climbed 19%, but food exports to our other NAFTA countries grew 62% because of the drop of fees to ship them. The last item of food to become duty free will be peanuts and that will happen on January 1, 2009. At that time all food products will be duty free. Also by then almost all other items, with a very few items, will be duty free.
On food items the agreement sets standards about the importing of food with respect to development, adoption and enforcement of sanitary and phytosanitary measures. These are measures taken to protect human, animal, or plant life or health from risks that may arise from animal or plant pests or diseases, etc.
NAFTA will work toward the elimination of export subsidies in North America between the 3 countries.
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