North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a free-trade deal among the United States, Mexico, and Canada that was signed in [Page 1186]1993 and implemented on January 1, 1994. Since its inception, NAFTA has been credited with increased intraregional trade among the participating countries. The U.S. trade with Mexico and Canada now exceeds its combined trade with China, India, Russia, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea. The North American economy has become more integrated for about two decades since the trade agreement came into existence. There has been a significant surge in cross-border investment and travel. Critics of NAFTA argued that the agreement was responsible for the U.S. trade deficit, high unemployment rate, and high illegal immigration into the United States. The discussion of NAFTA ...