North American Free Trade Agreement

In November 1993 the U.S. Congress approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA. Its passage concluded two and one half years of policy negotiations between Mexico, Canada, and the United States designed to increase trade by expanding market access and reducing investment barriers. NAFTA has ushered in a new era in Canadian- the United States -Mexican relations, adding a trilateral dimension to relations that were previously managed on a bilateral basis. Canada’s involvement with U.S. trade as outlined in the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement of 1988 resulted in Canada becoming the third party to the NAFTA negotiations in 1991. NAFTA is a milestone in the affairs of the continent and in international trade. The first formal arrangement of any kind between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, it is also the first trade pact including countries of such disproportionate power and levels of development. In global economic terms, NAFTA furthers a trend toward regional economic arrangements and establishes a precedent for cooperation between developed and developing countries. For Canada the agreement represents a reversal of long-standing efforts to resist the embrace of the powerful neighbor.

This is not an abstract debate but rather one that centers on the effects free trade has already had The changes in basic values among the publics of Canada are transforming economic , social , and political life , giving this country an increasingly compatible cultural perspective . In the long run, these changes have important implications for economic and political cooperation. The work will review the changes in policy orientation and priorities in Canada, and illustrate how Canadian policy remained defensive and reactive in the face of the NAFTA initiative

North America is steering a new course. Since the mid-1980s, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have been moving toward continental economic integration, culminating in the establishment of NAFTA in...