North American Free Trade Agreement - NAFTA
Definition of 'North American Free Trade Agreement - NAFTA'A regulation implemented on Jan. 1, 1994, that decreased and eventually eliminated tariffs to encourage economic activity between the United States, Mexico and Canada. NAFTA is credited with making it easier for Americans to purchase Canadian and Mexican goods, increasing workers' wages slightly in all three countries, increasing manufacturing and other jobs for U.S. workers, and dramatically increasing trade between the three nations, from $337 billion in 1993 to $1.182 trillion in 2011. |
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Investopedia explains 'North American Free Trade Agreement - NAFTA'In some ways, NAFTA has been less successful than hoped. Much of the NAFTA-driven investment in Mexico was in the form of maquiladoras (factories) in unpleasant border towns, and Mexican workers haven't experienced anticipated gains in wealth because of competition from Asian workers. NAFTA still imposes countless regulatory burdens on companies wishing to trade internationally and threaten administrative, civil and criminal penalties for violators. |
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