NAFTA

NAFTA

NAFTA

NAFTA has liberalized trade in a variety of ways. Tariffs were either eliminated immediately or phased out over periods of up to 15 years. Limits on investments were removed, and investors from any of the three countries were treated equally, currency was freely transferred at market rates, and performance requirements such as maintaining export levels and trade balancing were eliminated. Trade in services was liberalized and equal treatment was expected for service providers and professionals in each country (Hufbauer, 2008).

The role of the United States in North American integration, as the only world economic and political power, is so central ...