Although NAFTA did not deliver on everything its supporters had promised, it remained in force. In fact, the 2004 Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) extended NAFTA to five Central American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua). In the same year, the Dominican Republic joined the group and signed a free trade agreement with the United States, followed by Colombia in 2006, Peru in 2007 and Panama in 2011. According to many experts, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed on October 5, 2015, represented an extension of NAFTA on a much larger scale. Many small U.S. businesses relied on exporting their products to Canada or Mexico under NAFTA. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, this trade has supported more than 140,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the United States. [94] Proponents defended NAFTA because it opened Mexican markets to U.S. companies like never before.
The Mexican market is growing rapidly, which promises more export opportunities, which means more jobs. Proponents, however, have struggled to convince the American public that NAFTA would do more benefit than harm. Their main efforts were to convince people that all consumers would benefit from the widest possible choice of products at the lowest possible price, meaning that consumers would be the greatest beneficiaries of the removal of barriers to trade. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents the interests of small businesses, has been one of nafta`s most active supporters, organizing owners and employees of small and medium-sized businesses to support the agreement. This support was essential to counter the unions` efforts to stop the deal. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; Spanish: Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States that created a trilateral trading bloc in North America. The agreement entered into force on January 1, 1994 and replaced the 1988 Canada-U.S. Canada-Canada Free Trade Agreement. [3] The NAFTA trading bloc was one of the largest trading blocs in the world in terms of gross domestic product. A fourth round of talks included a U.S. call for a sunset clause that would end the deal in five years unless the three countries agree to maintain it, a provision that U.S.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said would allow countries to end the deal if it didn`t work. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the House Ways and Means Committee because Congress would have to pass legislation reversing the terms of the treaty if Trump tried to withdraw from the pact. [136] In July 2017, the Trump administration presented a detailed list of changes it intends to make to NAFTA. [131] The top priority was to reduce the U.S. trade deficit. [131] [132] The government also requested the removal of provisions allowing Canada and Mexico to appeal U.S. tariffs and restricted the U.S. ability to impose import restrictions in Canada and Mexico. [131] The list also alleges subsidized so-owned enterprises and currency manipulation.
[131] [133] Mexico is the third largest trading partner of the United States and the second largest export market for U.S. products. Mexico was our third largest trading partner (after Canada and China) and our second largest export market in 2018. Reciprocal trade in goods and services totalled $678 billion, and that trade directly and indirectly supports millions of jobs in the United States. The U.S. sold $265 billion worth of U.S. products to Mexico and $34 billion worth of services in 2018, for a total revenue of $299 billion in Mexico. Mexico is the first or second largest export destination for 27 U.S. states.
Academics, governments and stakeholders debate the relative costs, benefits and beneficiaries of free trade. Political scientist Daniel W. Drezner of Tufts University argued that NAFTA has made it easier for Mexico to become a true democracy and a country that sees itself as North America. This has strengthened cooperation between the United States and Mexico. [81] In Europe, six countries formed the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, which became the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958. Two fundamental objectives of the EEC were the development of a common market, later renamed the internal market, and the creation of a customs union between its Member States. After the enlargement of its membership, the EEC became the European Union in 1993. The European Union, today the largest single market in the world[45], has concluded free trade agreements with many countries around the world. [46] According to a 2018 Sierra Club report, Canada`s commitments under NAFTA and the Paris Agreement were contradictory. The Paris commitments were voluntary and NAFTA was mandatory.
[65] One of the most affected agricultural sectors has been the meat industry. Mexico went from being a small player in the U.S. export market before 1994 to becoming the second largest importer of U.S. agricultural products in 2004, and NAFTA may have been a major catalyst for this change. Free trade removed barriers that hindered business between the two countries, so Mexico provided a growing market for meat for the United States and increased sales and profits for the United States.