North American Free Trade Agreement MEG AND ALICIA

History of Agreement  Free trade agreement between Canada and US was first signed in 1988  Came into effect in 1989  In 1991, Canada requested a trilateral agreement which led to the creation of NAFTA  After signed by president George Bush 1992, it was signed into law by Bill Clinton on December 8 th 1993  Launched on January 1 st 1994  Celebrated their 20 th anniversary in 2014

Regions or Countries Involved  Canada  United States  Mexico The agreement was signed by these three creating a trilateral rules-based trade bloc in North America

Details of what agreement affects  Eliminated trade barriers  Increased investment opportunities - US has invested more than $310 billion in Canada - Canada has invested $200 billion in the US  Increased competitiveness between the three countries on the global market  Increased wages- US-0.17%, CAN-0.96%, Mexico- 1.3%  Has had both positive and negative impacts on farmers, workers, manufactures and consumers

Facts on agreement benefit  Increased trade  Reduced prices and costs through increased production  Meet challenges of global competition  Trade among NAFTA countries are responsible for one third of all international trade  Fair competition  Dispute resolution  Provisions for the protection of intellectual property  FTAA- Free Trade Area of the Americans, potential North-South alliance

Impact on Canada  Every minute $1million of business is exchanged between Canada and the US - Being a major trading partner helps resolve problems other than trade, CAN and US work together to provide defense of the continent and facilitate smoother border point processing  Lower wage and production costs - Predictions that Mexico could surpass Canada as the primary trading partner of US  More than 80% of Canada’s exports go to US

Recent news items concerning agreement The Canadian government has been urging Obama to move forward with the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would run from Alberta to Texas. Their argument was that it would create jobs and ensure a safe energy supply. Senior Canadian officials have said that if the United States continuously delays and eventually declines the pipeline, then Canada could launch a NAFTA challenge.

NAFTA has made it harder for Mexican farmers in the international market, especially for corn farmers. The trade agreement opened up U.S. markets to Mexican farmers, but corn farmers in Mexico have not been able to sell any corn in America. This is because American farmers have been able to produce corn for a cheaper cost, due to generous government subsidies of approximately $ a year for the average farmer, while the average Mexican farmer only receives $100 a year from the government. Millions of Mexican crops have no choice but to be used to feed animals.

The environmental watchdog established under the North American Free Trade Agreement has both helped and harmed the environment. One of the negative effects that NAFTA has imposed on the environment is that it allows businesses to relocate their environmental problems to areas with less strict laws. (Ex. Canada has had an increase of hazardous waste imports from the U.S.). A positive effect of NAFTA on the environment is that it has made it easier for organizations to import technology and build factories with a less polluting standard. (Ex. Many companies have relocated to Mexico, and were able to build factories with high environmental standards because of NAFTA).