The North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as NAFTA, is a treaty between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The NAFTA would be implemented on January 1st, 1994, with the overall purpose of promoting and increasing free trade between the North American countries. Ultimately, free trade could lead to more profitable markets while concurrently increasing the variety and availability of goods and services in all three countries alike. NAFTA would also replace and supersede the previously implemented Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and would also include Mexico, which was not involved in the previous treated.
The North American Free Trade Agreement intended, as least in the long run, to eliminate the need for tariffs on all imports between the involved countries. The reasoning is that eliminating tariffs would create for a better and more steady trade between the three countries in order to provide for market diversity and versatility. However, not all tariffs would be immediately dissolved. NAFTA implemented that a ten to fifteen year time frame be necessary to eliminate the tariffs on certain kinds of products or goods.
Even though the North American Free Trade Agreement had in its implementation an overall and mutual benefit for the three countries, there have been some negative aspects that have resulted. One of the most debated issues is in regard to outsourcing, where the United States and Canada, due to laws and labor regulations, are outsourcing to Mexico because of its relatively lax provisions in such areas.
