North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) Countries

diciembre 13, 2020 leedeforest

One of the most important provisions of NAFTA provided for the status of «domestic products» for products imported from other NAFTA countries. No state, province or local government could impose taxes or tariffs on these goods. In addition, at the time of the agreement, tariffs were either abolished or abolished in five or ten equal steps. The only exception to the exit was the issue of sensitive points for which the exit period would be 15 years. But other economists, including Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Cathleen Cimino-Isaacs of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), have pointed out that increased trade is paying off the U.S. economy. Some jobs are lost because of imports, others are created and consumers benefit greatly from lower prices and often improved product quality. Your 2014 PIIE study on the impact of NAFTA revealed a net loss of about 15,000 jobs per year as a result of the pact – but gains of about $450,000 for each job lost, in the form of higher productivity and lower consumer prices. Agriculture, in particular, has seen a boost. Canada is the largest importer of U.S. agricultural products, and Canadian agricultural trade with the United States has more than tripled since 1994, as has Canada`s overall agricultural exports to NAFTA partners. Neither the worst fears of Canadian trade opponents – that open trade would erode the country`s manufacturing sector – nor the highest hopes of NAFTA proponents – that this would lead to a rapid increase in productivity – have been realized.

Employment in Canada`s manufacturing sector has remained stable, but the productivity gap between the Canadian and U.S. economies has not been closed: until 2017, Canada`s labour productivity remained at 72% of the U.S. level. NAFTA has not eliminated regulatory requirements for companies wishing to act internationally, such as rules of origin and documentation obligations, that determine whether certain products can be traded under NAFTA. The free trade agreement also provides for administrative, civil and criminal sanctions for companies that violate the laws or customs procedures of the three countries. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented to promote trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico.