"Very readable book written during height of NAFTA debate. Remains a valuable resource for discussing impact of the trade agreement in Mexico and US"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.

Conceived in an era of rapid post–Cold War economic liberalization, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1994, brought together Canada, Mexico, and the United States with the aim of creating a regional trade bloc that eliminated the friction and costs of trade between the three nations. Without an overarching institutional framework, NAFTA never sought to attain the levels of integration achieved by the European Union – for many it was a missed opportunity – and never quite fulfilled its potential as a single market. And under Donald Trump's administration a trilateral trade agreement has become increasingly precarious. Freeing Trade in North America explains the theory behind the politics and economics of trade in North America, offering an accessible and concise analysis of the key provisions, shortcomings, and past revision efforts of the governments involved. At a time of increasing protectionism and heightened awareness of trading relationships, the book highlights the lessons to be learned from the fraught history of one of the largest trade blocs in the world.

The proposed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) represents a historic change in relations among Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The effect of the agreement on the three economies has generated controversy and some degree of alarm within each country. In this book, noted trade and development experts review the available literature on the effects of NAFTA on the three member countries and the world trading system. They evaluate how NAFTA will affect areas such as economic growth, employment, income distribution, industry, and agriculture in Canada, Mexico, and the United States; and consider the significance the trade agreement holds for the rest of the world. Drusill K. Brown begins the discussion by providing an overview and comparison of the general results from recent studies. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda and Sherman Robinson explore in greater detail the potential effects of NAFTA on wages and employment in Mexico and the United States. Sidney Wintrab reviews industry-specific effects of NAFTA, in particular, the environment, the social agenda, and human rights and democracy. Finally, Carlos Alberto Primo Braga considers the implications of NAFTA on the rest of the world. Following each of these chapters, international scholars assess the alternatives and provide recommendations for future research.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force on January 1, 1994. The agreement was signed by President George H. W. Bush on December 17, 1992, and approved by Congress on November 20, 1993. The NAFTA Implementation Act was signed into law by President William J. Clinton on December 8, 1993 (P.L. 103-182). The overall economic impact of NAFTA is difficult to measure since trade and investment trends are influenced by numerous other economic variables, such as economic growth, inflation, and currency fluctuations. The agreement likely accelerated and also locked in trade liberalization that was already taking place in Mexico, but many of these changes may have taken place without an agreement. Nevertheless, NAFTA is significant, because it was the most comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) negotiated at the time and contained several groundbreaking provisions. A legacy of the agreement is that it has served as a template or model for the new generation of FTAs that the United States later negotiated, and it also served as a template for certain provisions in multilateral trade negotiations as part of the Uruguay Round. The 115th Congress faces numerous issues related to NAFTA and international trade. President Donald J. Trump has proposed renegotiating NAFTA, or possibly withdrawing from it. Congress may wish to consider the ramifications of renegotiating or withdrawing from NAFTA and how it may affect the U.S. economy and foreign relations with Mexico and Canada. It may also wish to examine the congressional role in a possible renegotiation, as well as the negotiating positions of Canada and Mexico. Mexico has stated that, if NAFTA is reopened, it may seek to broaden negotiations to include security, counter-narcotics, and transmigration issues. Mexico has also indicated that it may choose to withdraw from the agreement if the negotiations are not favorable to the country. Congress may also wish to address issues related to the U.S. withdrawal from the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement among the United States, Canada, Mexico, and 9 other countries. Some observers contend that the withdrawal from TPP could damage U.S. competitiveness and economic leadership in the region, while others see the withdrawal as a way to prevent lower cost imports and potential job losses. Key provisions in TPP may also be addressed in 'modernizing' or renegotiating NAFTA, a more than two decade-old FTA. NAFTA was controversial when first proposed, mostly because it was the first FTA involving two wealthy, developed countries and a developing country. The political debate surrounding the agreement was divisive with proponents arguing that the agreement would help generate thousands of jobs and reduce income disparity in the region, while opponents warned that the agreement would cause huge job losses in the United States as companies moved production to Mexico to lower costs. In reality, NAFTA did not cause the huge job losses feared by the critics or the large economic gains predicted by supporters. The net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest, primarily because trade with Canada and Mexico accounts for a small percentage of U.S. GDP. However, there were worker and firm adjustment costs as the three countries adjusted to more open trade and investment. The rising number of bilateral and regional trade agreements throughout the world and the rising presence of China in Latin America could have implications for U.S. trade policy with its NAFTA partners. Some proponents of open and rules-based trade contend that maintaining NAFTA or deepening economic relations with Canada and Mexico will help promote a common trade agenda with shared values and generate economic growth. Some opponents argue that the agreement has caused worker displacement.

This study is the first effort to document the extent of NAFTA's impact on higher education. Through case studies, the authors analyze higher education policy in Canada, Mexico, and the USA using a common theoretical framework that identifies economic globalization, international trade liberalization, and post-industrialization as common structural factors exerting a significant influence on higher education in the three countries.

A critical review of recent U.S. trade policies that have failed to enforce sufficient reciprocity and overall trade balance, with suggestions for policies that foster a more balanced and realistic pattern of world trade growth.

In general, a reduction in trade barriers will affect the environment by expanding the scale of economic activity, by altering the composition of economic activity and by initiating a change in the techniques of production. We present empirical evidence to assess the relative magnitudes of these three effects as they apply to further trade liberalization in Mexico. We first use comparable measures of three air pollutants in a cross-section of urban areas located in 42 countries to study the relationship between air quality and economic growth. We find for two pollutants (sulphur dioxide and 'smoke') that concentrations increase with per capita GDP at low levels of national income, but decrease with GDP growth at higher levels of income. We then study the determinants of the industry pattern of US imports from Mexico and of value added by Mexico's maquiladora sector. We investigate whether the size of pollution abatement costs in US industry influences the pattern of international trade and investment. Finally, we use the results from a computable general equilibrium model to study the likely compositional effect of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on pollution in Mexico.

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year: “Tells the history of American trade policy . . . [A] grand narrative [that] also debunks trade-policy myths.” —Economist Should the United States be open to commerce with other countries, or should it protect domestic industries from foreign competition? This question has been the source of bitter political conflict throughout American history. Such conflict was inevitable, James Madison argued in the Federalist Papers, because trade policy involves clashing economic interests. The struggle between the winners and losers from trade has always been fierce because dollars and jobs are at stake: depending on what policy is chosen, some industries, farmers, and workers will prosper, while others will suffer. Douglas A. Irwin’s Clashing over Commerce is the most authoritative and comprehensive history of US trade policy to date, offering a clear picture of the various economic and political forces that have shaped it. From the start, trade policy divided the nation—first when Thomas Jefferson declared an embargo on all foreign trade and then when South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over excessive taxes on imports. The Civil War saw a shift toward protectionism, which then came under constant political attack. Then, controversy over the Smoot-Hawley tariff during the Great Depression led to a policy shift toward freer trade, involving trade agreements that eventually produced the World Trade Organization. Irwin makes sense of this turbulent history by showing how different economic interests tend to be grouped geographically, meaning that every proposed policy change found ready champions and opponents in Congress. Deeply researched and rich with insight and detail, Clashing over Commerce provides valuable and enduring insights into US trade policy past and present. “Combines scholarly analysis with a historian’s eye for trends and colorful details . . . readable and illuminating, for the trade expert and for all Americans wanting a deeper understanding of America’s evolving role in the global economy.” —National Review “Magisterial.” —Foreign Affairs

Examines (1) the overall economic effects of the NAFTA on the economies of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada; (2) the key NAFTA provisions and related legal changes that may affect individual sectors; and (3) the short- and long-term impact of NAFTA on important industrial, energy, agricultural, and service sectors of the U.S. economy. Also summarizes recent economic developments in Mexico. Tables and figures.