NAFTA Revisited Achievements and Challenges

NAFTA entered into force in 1994 after a bitter Congressional debate. But NAFTA in operation has provedno less controversial than NAFTA before ratification, for both supporters and opponents of trade liberalizationhave cited experience with the agreement to justify their positions. To provide a factual basis for thisongoing debate, the authors evaluate NAFTA's performance since its inception, comparing actual experiencewith both the objectives of the agreement's supporters and the charges of its critics. They examinefuture challenges and opportunities in the trade and investment relationships among the three partnercountries and the broader implications for new trade initiatives throughout the hemisphere. Chapter 1describes trade, investment, and macroeconomic developments under NAFTA, beginning inauspiciouslywith the Mexican economic crisis of 1994 but moving on to impressive growth in trilateral trade andMexican GDP. Chapter 2 traces the implementation of NAFTA's dispute settlement provisions and theprogress to date in implementing reforms. Chapter 3 distills and updates the findings from NAFTA and theEnvironment: Seven Years Later and recommends how to improve the performance of NAFTA's institutionsin addressing environmental problems. Chapter 4 undertakes a similar assessment of the operations of theNorth American Agreement on Labor Cooperation and the impact of NAFTA on employment and wagesin the region. Chapters 5 and 6 examine integration in the North American auto and energy markets. Thefinal chapter looks forward and focuses on the challenges facing North American economic integration onimportant issues such as immigration, environment, energy, and exchange rates.Hufbauer, Gary C. is the author of 'NAFTA Revisited Achievements and Challenges', published 2005 under ISBN 9780881323344 and ISBN 0881323349.