In 1994, the United States, Mexico and Canada created the world`s largest free trade region with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which generated economic growth and helped raise the standard of living of people in all three member countries. By strengthening trade and investment rules and procedures, this agreement has proven to be a solid foundation for building Canada`s prosperity and has provided a valuable example of the benefits of trade liberalization for the rest of the world. The new agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico will serve to strengthen Canada`s strong economic ties with the United States and Mexico. On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) at the G-20 summit. Trump celebrated with a tweet hailing the new trade deal as the end of the ”terrible” North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been in place since Jan. 1, 1994. According to Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Trump administration`s list ”aligns very well with the president`s position of liking trade barriers and loving protectionism. In many ways, this makes NAFTA less of a free trade agreement. [131] It is believed that the concerns expressed by the U.S. Trade Representative about subsidized state-owned enterprises and currency manipulation do not apply to Canada and Mexico, but rather are intended to send a message to countries outside North America. [131] Jeffrey Schott of the Peterson Institute for International Economics noted that it was not possible to conclude the renegotiations quickly while addressing all the concerns on the list. [133] He also said that anything would be difficult to do to address trade deficits.

[133] 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 to business between the two countries, making Mexico a growing market for meat for the United States and boosting sales and profits for the U.S. meat industry. A simultaneous notable increase in Mexico`s GDP per capita significantly changed meat consumption patterns as per capita meat consumption increased. [70] The North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) entered into force in January 1994. It is one of two parallel agreements to the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The agreement is administered by the Commission for Labour Cooperation, which consists of a Council of Ministers and a trinational secretariat based in Washington D.C. Currently, four provinces (Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island) are signatories to ALCAA under an intergovernmental agreement. The Commission works closely with the National Administrative Offices (NAOs) set up in each country to implement the agreement and serve as a national focal point. In Canada, the Office of Inter-American Labour Cooperation acts as the Canadian NAO within the Labour Directorate of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The Canadian-Bulgarian Court of Auditors also provides for the submission and receipt of public communications (complaints) on labour law issues arising in the territory of another Contracting Party and serves as an official review body in Canada. In 1992, NAFTA was signed by outgoing President George H.W. Bush, Mexican President Salinas and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. At the beginning of the year, the European Union was created by the Maastricht Treaty. ”NAFTA will break down trade barriers between our three countries, create the largest trade area in the world, and create 200,000 jobs [in the United States] by 1995 alone,” President Clinton said.

”The environmental and labour agreements negotiated by our government will make this agreement a force for social progress and economic growth. A study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics found that NAFTA increased U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico and Canada, even though most of the increase occurred a decade after its ratification. The study focused on the impact that the gradual phased introduction periods of regional trade agreements, including NAFTA, have on trade flows. .