An Agreement To Lift North American Trade Restrictions

Shortly after his election, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would begin renegotiating NAFTA terms to resolve trade issues for which he campaigned. The heads of state and government of Canada and Mexico have expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Trump administration. [129] Although he vaguely formulated the precise terms he wants in a renegotiated NAFTA, Trump has threatened to withdraw from it if negotiations fail. [130] One of the most affected agricultural sectors was the meat industry. In 2004, Mexico moved from a small player in the U.S. export market to the second largest importer of U.S. agricultural products, and NAFTA may have been an important catalyst for this change. Free trade has removed barriers to business between the two countries, allowing Mexico to offer a growing meat market in the United States and increase sales and profits for the meat industry in the United States. A simultaneous and dramatic increase in Mexican GDP per capita has significantly changed meat consumption patterns due to increased per capita meat consumption. [70] The United States had a trade surplus of $28.3 billion for services in 2009 with NAFTA countries and a trade deficit of $94.6 billion (36.4% per year) in 2010. This trade deficit represented 26.8% of the total U.S.

trade deficit. [89] A 2018 study on international trade published by the Center for International Relations identified irregularities in NAFTA trade patterns using network theory analysis techniques. The study showed that the U.S. trade balance was influenced by the potential for tax evasion in Ireland. [90] The political divide was particularly large in terms of views on free trade with Mexico. Contrary to a positive view of free trade with Canada, which 79% of Americans called fair trade partners, only 47% of Americans thought that Mexico practiced fair trade. The gap between Democrats and Republicans has widened: 60% of Democrats thought Mexico was fair trade, while only 28% of Republicans did. That was the highest number of Democrats and the lowest figure ever recorded by Republicans in the Chicago Council survey. Republicans had more negative views on Canada than fair trade partners and Democrats.

[160] The United States, Mexico and Canada have reached agreement on a modernized and highly standardized chapter on intellectual property (IP) that provides effective protection and respect for intellectual property rights, which are essential to promoting innovation, economic growth and supporting U.S. employment. NAFTA has long been a political objective. In 2008, then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama responded to widespread trade skepticism within the Democratic base by promising to renegotiate NAFTA to incorporate stricter labor and environmental standards. The Obama administration tried to address NAFTA issues during the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, a massive trade agreement with 11 other countries, including Canada and Mexico. The TPP was deeply unpopular – Hillary Clinton ultimately opposed the deal during her 2016 presidential bid – and President Trump withdrew the United States from the TPP in one of his first official acts. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Mexican President Carlos Salinas and U.S. President George H.W. Bush, came into force on January 1, 1994. NAFTA has created economic growth and a rising standard of living for the people of the three member countries.