preview

The Pros And Cons Of NAFTA

Better Essays

Introduction
The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, implemented in1994, is a trilateral agreement which helps facilitate trade between the three countries of North America; the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The agreement has transformed the bilateral relations between the United states and Mexico in many regards. Since NAFTA came into effect, the United States has become Mexico’s main trading partner considering that 88 percent of Mexico’s exports and 56 percent of their imports go to the United States (U.S.). The new relationship between the U.S. and Mexico’s economy was foreseen by the creators of NAFTA. However, an entirely unforeseen factor that affected both countries was the dramatic increase …show more content…

One of the very first substantial contributions to promoting international trade, was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) , which established limits on tariffs in order to encourage economic collaboration and assistance between countries. As trade increased after the war, many economist believed that worldwide commercial agreements and the popularization of a free trade market, would help increase profitability in all countries that participated in the agreements. Later on in 1989, free trade advocates urged the Canadian, Mexican and US governments to come together in a free-trade agreement. The agreement between the three countries would substantially eliminate tariffs on agriculture and other products exchanged throughout the three countries. Additionally, it would reduce restrictions on foreign investments placed by industries. Problems that a free-trade agreement was projected to resolve where that of more jobs being created which will in turn eliminate problems of immigration and depressed currencies, all the while protecting worker rights and defending the environment. Agreements of such attention were negotiated by the United States and other countries, in which they reciprocally agreed to reduce tariffs on the products they exchanged with each other. Most agreements are designed by the …show more content…

The final draft of the agreement had four major types of provisions. First, NAFTA promised to reduce, and in the near future, eliminate all tariffs (taxes on imports) among the three countries. The reduction in tariffs happened almost immediately between Mexico and the United States. The tariffs fell by 50% in the first year of the agreement and all tariffs were expected to be eliminated in a span of 15 years. Secondly, NAFTA implemented rules in the three countries that would protect intellectual rights and investments. The agreement encouraged and facilitated the buying and establishment of enterprises in Mexico from the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, the agreement also gave more freedom to Canada and Mexico to invest in canadian banks. Restrictions on bringing profits back were also removed. Third, NAFTA supported trade in services, such as banking and finance, transportation and telecommunications. An important factor we should consider is that since there was reduced barriers to trade and services, Mexico extended temporary work permits to service providers from Canada and the United States. Hence, the U.S. and Canada indirectly became desirable countries for Mexican migrants. The new jobs created by Canada and the U.S. became a pull factor for people being pushed out of their own nation resulting from unlivable

Get Access