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Nafta

NAFTA:
North American Free Trade Agreement



Implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began on January 1, 1994, and is one of the United States’ most significant regional trade agreements.   The final provisions of the NAFTA were fully implemented on January 1, 2008.   With full implementation, the last remaining trade restriction on a handful of agricultural commodities such as U.S. exports to Mexico of corn, dry edible beans, nonfat dry milk and high fructose corn syrup and Mexican exports to the United States of sugar and certain horticultural products are now removed.   As you can see this agreement will have the potential to remove most barriers to agricultural trade and investment among the United States, Canada, and Mexico and has benefited farmers, ranchers and consumers throughout North America.
Under the NAFTA, all non-tariff barriers to agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico were eliminated.   In addition, many tariffs were eliminated immediately, with others being phased out over periods of 5 to 15 years.   This allowed for an orderly adjustment to free trade with Mexico, with full implementation was set to begin January 1, 2008.   The agricultural provisions of the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, in effect since 1989, were incorporated into the NAFTA. Under these provisions, all tariffs affecting agricultural trade between the United States and Canada, with a few exceptions for items covered by tariff-rate quotas, were removed by January 1, 1998.   Mexico and Canada reached a separate bilateral NAFTA agreement on market access for agricultural products. The Mexican-Canadian agreement eliminated most tariffs either immediately or over 5, 10, or 15 years. Tariffs between the two countries affecting trade in dairy, poultry, eggs, and sugar are maintained. (Paul)
Also, under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Article XIX), and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement (Chapter 11), countries may take...