Although NAFTA did not deliver on everything its supporters had promised, it remained in force. In 2004, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) extended NAFTA to five Central American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua). In the same year, the Dominican Republic joined the group by signing a free trade agreement with the United States, followed by Colombia in 2006, Peru in 2007 and Panama in 2011. According to many experts, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed on October 5, 2015, represented an extension of NAFTA on a much larger scale. A free trade agreement (FTA) is an agreement between two or more countries in which, among other things, countries agree on certain obligations that affect trade in goods and services, as well as the protection of investors and intellectual property rights. For the United States, the primary purpose of trade agreements is to remove barriers to U.S. exports and protect the United States. Competing interests abroad and improving the rule of law in FTA partner countries. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was inspired by the success of the European Economic Community (1957-93) in eliminating tariffs to boost trade among its members. Proponents argued that establishing a free trade area in North America would bring prosperity through increased trade and production, resulting in the creation of millions of well-paying jobs in all participating countries. Currently, the United States has 14 free trade agreements with 20 countries. FTAs can help your business enter the global market more easily and compete through zero or reduced tariffs and other regulations.

Although the specificities of free trade agreements vary, they generally provide for the removal of barriers to trade and the creation of a more stable and transparent trade and investment environment. This makes it easier and cheaper for the United States. Companies export their products and services to trading partner markets. Key NAFTA provisions provided for the phasing out of tariffs, tariffs and other barriers to trade between the three members, with some tariffs to be lifted immediately and others over periods of up to 15 years. The agreement ultimately ensured duty-free access to a wide range of industrial products and goods traded between the signatories. Domestic goods status was granted to products imported from other NAFTA countries and prohibited any state, local or provincial government from imposing taxes or duties on these goods. ==External links==The Free Trade Agreement was concluded in 1988 and NAFTA essentially extended the provisions of this agreement to Mexico. NAFTA was established by the governments of U.S. President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the Mexican President. Carlos Salinas de Gortari negotiated.

A provisional agreement on the Pact was reached in August 1992 and signed by the three Heads of State or Government on 17 December. NAFTA was ratified by the national legislators of the three countries in 1993 and entered into force on January 1, 1994. Additional ancillary arrangements have been made to address concerns about the potential impact of the Treaty on the labour market and the environment. Critics feared that low wages in Mexico would attract U.S. and Canadian companies, leading to a relocation of production to Mexico and a rapid decline in manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and Canada. Environmentalists, meanwhile, have worried about the potentially catastrophic effects of Mexico`s rapid industrialization, as the country has no experience in implementing and enforcing environmental regulations. Potential environmental issues were addressed in the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), which established the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in 1994. Selling to U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner countries can help your business more easily enter the global marketplace and compete by reducing trade barriers.

U.S. Free Trade Agreements address a variety of foreign government activities that affect your business: reducing tariffs, strengthening intellectual property protections, increasing the contribution of U.S. exporters to the development of product standards for free trade agreements in partner countries, treating U.S. investors fairly, and improving government procurement opportunities. foreign and U.S. service companies. Product Standards: The opportunity for U.S. exporters to participate in the development of product standards in the FHA partner country.

If you need a break, try one of the other activities listed under the memory cards, such as .B. Matching, Snowman, or Hungry Bug. Although you feel like you`re playing a game, your brain is always making more connections with information to help you. If you accidentally put the card in the wrong box, just click on the card to remove it from the box. Reduction or elimination of customs duties on qualified persons. For example, a country that normally imposes a duty of 12% of the value of the incoming good will eliminate that tariff on products originating in the United States (as defined in the FTA). This makes you more competitive in the market. NAFTA has yielded mixed results. It turned out that this was neither the silver bullet his supporters had envisioned, nor the devastating blow his detractors had predicted. Mexico has seen a dramatic increase in exports, from about $60 billion in 1994 to nearly $400 billion in 2013. The increase in exports has also been accompanied by an explosion in imports, which has led to an influx of better quality and cheaper products for Mexican consumers.

Little has happened in the labour market that would have radically changed the results in any country involved in the treaty. Due to immigration restrictions, the wage gap between Mexico, on the one hand, and the United States and Canada, on the other, has not narrowed. The lack of infrastructure in Mexico has prompted many U.S. and Canadian companies not to invest directly in the country. As a result, there have been no significant job losses in the United States and Canada, nor have there been any environmental disasters caused by industrialization in Mexico. Post-NAFTA economic growth has not been impressive in any of the countries involved. The United States and Canada have suffered greatly from several economic recessions, including the Great Recession of 2007-2009, which overshadowed any positive effects that NAFTA could have had. Mexico`s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a slower pace than other Latin American countries such as Brazil and Chile, and its per capita income growth was also not significant, although there was a boom in the middle class in the years following NAFTA.

Other NAFTA provisions are expected to give U.S. and Canadian companies better access to Mexican markets in banking, insurance, advertising, telecommunications and freight forwarding. Service companies: the possibility for US service providers to provide their services in the FTA partner country. See the list of FTA countries and preferential treatment requirements. To see how well you know the information, try the quiz or test activity. Intellectual Property Protection: Protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights held by Americans in the FTA partner country. Use these flashcards to memorize information. Look at the big map and try to remember what`s on the other side. Then click on the card to return it. If you knew the answer, click the green Knowledge box.

Otherwise, click the red Don`t know box. If you want to export your product or service, the U.S. may have negotiated favorable treatment through a free trade agreement to make it easier for you and reduce it at a lower cost. Accessing the benefits of the FTA for your product may require more records, but it can also give your product a competitive advantage over products from other countries. U.S. free trade agreements typically deal with a variety of government activities that affect your business: fair treatment of U.S. investors, provided they are treated as favorably as the FTA partner country treats its own investors and their investments, or investors and investments from a third country. If you place seven or more cards in the Don`t know box, click Retry to try again.

Sale to the government: the possibility for a US company to bid on certain public contracts in the FTA partner country. Other provisions introduced formal rules for the settlement of disputes between investors and participating countries. These rules allowed companies or individual investors, among others, to sue any signatory country that violated the rules of the treaty for compensation. NAFTA also included provisions to protect intellectual property rights. Participating countries would respect intellectual property rules and take strict measures against industrial theft. Many critics of NAFTA saw the deal as a radical experiment developed by influential multinationals that sought to increase their profits at the expense of ordinary citizens of the countries concerned. .