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With Countries in North American Free Trade Agreement - NAFTA The
North American Free Trade Agreement, known usually as NAFTA,
is a free trade agreement among Canada*,
the United States, and Mexico.
NAFTA went into effect on January 1, 1994. NAFTA is also used to refer
to the tripartite trading bloc of North American countries. NAFTA
called for immediately eliminating duties on half of all U.S. goods
shipped to Mexico and gradually phasing out other tariffs over a period
of about 14 years. Restrictions were to be removed from many categories,
including motor vehicles and automotive parts, computers, textiles, and
agriculture. The treaty also protected intellectual property rights
(patents, copyrights, and trademarks) and outlined the removal of
restrictions on investment among the three countries. Provisions
regarding worker and environmental protection were added later as a
result of supplemental agreements signed in 1993. This agreement was an
expansion of the earlier Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement of 1989.
Unlike the European Union, NAFTA does not create a set of supranational
governmental bodies, nor does it create a body of law which is superior
to national law. NAFTA is a treaty under international law. (Under
United States law it is classed as a congressional-executive agreement
rather than a treaty, reflecting a peculiar sense of the term
"treaty" in United States constitutional law that is not
followed by international law or the laws of other states.) The
agreement was initially pursued by free-trade conservative governments
in the US and Canada, led by Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and
US President George H. W. Bush. There was considerable opposition on
both sides of the border, but in the United States it was able to secure
passage after President Bill Clinton made its passage a major
legislative initiative in 1993. After intense political debate and the
negotiation of several side agreements, the US House passed NAFTA by
234-200 (132 Republicans and 102 Democrats voting in favor) and the US
Senate passed it by 61-38. Some opposition persists to the present day,
although labour unions in Canada have recently removed objections to the
agreement from their platforms. The
United States and Canada have been arguing for years over the United
States' decision to impose a 27% duty on Canadian softwood lumber
imports. Canada has filed numerous motions to have the duty eliminated
and the collected duties returned to Canada. Canada has won every case
brought before the NAFTA tribunal, the last being on March 18, 2006. The
United States responded by saying "We are, of course, disappointed
with the [NAFTA panel's] decision, but it will have no impact on the
anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders," (Neena Moorjani,
spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman). The failure of
the U.S. to adhere to the terms of the treaty has generated widespread
political debate in Canada. The debate includes imposing countervailing
duties on American products, and possibly shutting off all or some
energy shipments, such as natural gas.
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