North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - Fast Facts
History
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 effect on January 1, 1994.
The NAFTA was built on the success of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and provided a complement to Canada’s efforts through the WTO agreements by making deeper commitments in some key areas.
With the coming into force of the NAFTA, the world's largest free trade area was formed. The Agreement has brought economic growth and rising standards of living for people in all three countries.
The NAFTA, being the first comprehensive trade agreement of its type, has set a valuable example of the benefits of trade liberalization for the rest of the world.
In the event of a dispute, the NAFTA directs the governments concerned to seek to resolve their differences amicably through the NAFTA’s Committees and Working Groups or other consultations. If no mutually acceptable solution is found, the NAFTA provides for dispute settlement procedures. One of the principle elements of the NAFTA is the establishment of a clear set of rules for dealing with the settlement of disputes. The NAFTA was the first agreement to afford cross-border investors an impartial legal tribunal to address differences.
Under the NAFTA, tariffs on all covered goods traded between Canada and Mexico were eliminated in 2008. Tariffs on covered goods traded between Canada and the United States became duty free on January 1, 1989, in accordance with the CUSFTA which was carried forward under NAFTA.
Prosperity
Since 1994, NAFTA has generated economic growth and rising standards of living for the people of all three member countries. By strengthening the rules and procedures governing trade and investment throughout the continent, NAFTA has proven to be a solid foundation for building Canada’s future prosperity.
NAFTA has had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the Canadian economy. It has opened up new export opportunities, acted as a stimulus to build internationally competitive businesses, and helped attract significant foreign investment.
By any measure the NAFTA has been a success by serving as a basis to grow both trilateral and bilateral North American relationships and the results speak for themselves. This integration helps maximize our capabilities and make our economies more innovative and competitive.
In 2016, total trilateral merchandise trade, as measured by the total of each country’s imports from its other two NAFTA partners, amounted to nearly USD $1.0 trillion – more than a threefold increase since 1993. In 2016, NAFTA partners represented 28% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) with just less than 7% of the world’s population. Since the implementation of NAFTA, the North American economy has expanded, with the combined GDP for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico reaching USD $21.1 trillion in 2016.
Cooperation through the NAFTA has created a North America where Canadian, American and Mexican companies do more than make and sell things to each other, now, our companies increasingly make things together.
Investment
The NAFTA’s provisions ensure greater certainty and stability for investment decisions by guaranteeing fair, transparent and non–discriminatory treatment of investors and their investments throughout the free trade area.
The NAFTA has contributed to enhancing Canada’s attractiveness to foreign investors while providing more opportunities for Canadians to invest in NAFTA partners’ economies. Investment is a key pillar of economic growth. At the end of 2016, the stock of investment in Canada from our NAFTA partners was $CA393.8 billion (CA$392.1 billion from the U.S. and CA$1.7 billion from Mexico), while Canada had invested CA$491.2 billion in our two NAFTA partners (CA$474.4 billion in the U.S. and CA$16.8 billion in Mexico).
Canada and the U.S. have one of the world’s largest investment relationships with a bilateral investment stock totalling more than CA$866.4 billion in 2016, according to Canadian statistics.
The stock of Canadian direct investment in Mexico has increased dramatically since NAFTA entered into force, reaching nearly CA$16.8 billion in 2016, up from only CA$530 million in 1993.
