NAFTA fundamentally reshaped North American economic relations, resulting in unprecedented integration between the developed economies of Canada and the United States, as well as the developing economies of Mexico. In the United States, NAFTA was originally supported by both sides; It was negotiated by Republican President George H.W. Bush, passed by a Democratic-controlled Congress and implemented under Democratic President Bill Clinton. Regional trade tripled under the agreement and cross-border investment between the three countries also increased significantly. After all, three separate events have had a major impact on the North American economy – none of which can be attributed to NAFTA. The failure of the tech bubble has hurt growth. Die Anschläge vom 11. September led to a crackdown on border crossings, particularly between the United States and Mexico, but also between the United States and Canada. In a 2013 article on foreign affairs, Michael Wilson, Canada`s Minister of International Trade from 1991 to 1993, wrote that crossings from the United States to Canada fell nearly 70% to their lowest level in four decades on the same day, from 2000 to 2012. The momentum for a North American free trade area began with U.S.
President Ronald Reagan, who incorporated the idea into his campaign when he announced his candidacy for president in November 1979. [15] Canada and the United States signed the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement in 1988, and shortly thereafter, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari decided to address U.S. President George H. W. Bush wants to propose a similar deal to attract foreign investment after the Latin American debt crisis. [15] When the two leaders began negotiations, the Canadian government led by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was concerned that the benefits That Canada had derived from the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement would be undermined by a bilateral agreement between the United States and Mexico and asked to participate in the U.S.-Mexico talks. [16] Overall, Canada has become more dependent on trade with the United States, accounting for 75% of its exports to its southern neighbour. Other high-income countries tend to be much more diverse, rarely relying on a single partner for more than 20%.
U.S. presidents have long shared cordial relations with Canadian prime ministers, but Trump has not hesitated to use this dependency as leverage. During the USMCA negotiations, he threatened new tariffs on Canadian auto parts if Ottawa did not accept trade concessions. According to a 2012 study, trade with the United States and Mexico increased by only a modest 11% with the reduction of NAFTA tariffs in Canada, compared to an increase of 41% for the United States and 118% for Mexico. [63]:3 In addition, the United States and Mexico benefited more from the tariff reduction component, with increases in social assistance of 0.08% and 1.31%, respectively, with Canada recording a decrease of 0.06%. [63]:4 Canada`s trade and investment relationship with Mexico has increased significantly since NAFTA came into force. In addition, Canada receives approximately 20,000 agricultural workers each year through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, which is often cited as a model for international labour mobility agreements. Mexico`s demographic and economic outlook points to even stronger trade growth. The previous free trade agreement between Canada and the United States had been controversial and divisive in Canada and had been treated as an issue in the 1988 Canadian election. In this election, more Canadians voted for anti-free trade parties (the Liberals and the New Democrats), but the division of votes between the two parties meant that the pro-free trade Progressive Conservatives (P.C.) with the most seats emerged from the election and thus took power.
Mulroney and the Progressive Conservatives had a parliamentary majority and easily passed the Canada-U.S. free trade and NAFTA laws in 1987. Mulroney, however, was replaced as Conservative leader and prime minister by Kim Campbell. Campbell led the Progressive Conservative Party until the 1993 election, when he was decimated by Jean Chrétien`s Liberal Party, which ran on a promise to renegotiate or repeal NAFTA. Chrétien then negotiated two additional agreements with Bush, who had undermined ALC`s consultation process,[18][19] and worked to «accelerate» the signing before the end of his term, which had run out of time and was expected to forward the necessary ratification and signature of the implementation law to the new President Bill Clinton. [20] The idea of a trade deal actually dates back to the administration of Ronald Reagan. During his tenure as president, Reagan kept an election promise to open trade in North America by signing the Trade and Tariffs Act in 1984. This has given the president more trade deals without any problems. Four years later, Reagan and the Canadian Prime Minister signed the Canada-U.S.
contract. Free trade agreements. Economists widely agree that NAFTA has benefited North American economies. Regional trade grew sharply in the first two decades of the treaty [PDF], from about $290 billion in 1993 to more than $1.1 trillion in 2016. Cross-border investment also increased, with the stock of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico increasing from $15 billion to more than $100 billion over that period. But experts have also proven difficult to determine the direct impact of the deal from other factors, including rapid technological change and expanding trade with countries like China. Meanwhile, the impact of NAFTA on employment and wages continues to be discussed. Some workers and industries have faced painful disruptions by losing market share due to increasing competition, while others have benefited from the new market opportunities that have been created.
Key NAFTA provisions provided for the phasing out of tariffs, tariffs and other barriers to trade between the three members, with some tariffs to be lifted immediately and others over periods of up to 15 years. The agreement ultimately ensured duty-free access to a wide range of industrial products and goods traded between the signatories. Domestic goods status was granted to products imported from other NAFTA countries and prohibited any state, local or provincial government from imposing taxes or duties on these goods. According to a 2017 report by the New York Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) think tank, bilateral trade in agricultural products tripled from 1994 to 2017 and is considered one of nafta`s biggest economic impacts on U.S.-Canada trade, with Canada becoming the largest importer of the U.S. agricultural sector. [64] Canadian fears of losing manufacturing jobs to the U.S. did not materialize as manufacturing employment remained «stable.» However, with Labour Productivity in Canada at 72% of U.S. levels, hopes of closing the «productivity gap» between the two countries have also not materialized. [64] The literature analyzing the economics of free trade is rich. Economists have conducted extensive work on the theoretical and empirical effects of free trade. Although it produces winners and losers, the broad consensus among economists is that free trade is a net gain for society. [22] [23] In a 2006 survey of U.S.
economists (83 respondents), «87.5% agree that the United States […].