scholarly journals The Impact of NAFTA on the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E Burfisher ◽  
Sherman Robinson ◽  
Karen Thierfelder

We describe the main economic arguments posed for and against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during the U.S. policy debate. To evaluate these arguments, we analyze recent trade data and survey post-NAFTA studies. We find that both the U.S. and Mexico benefit from NAFTA, with much larger relative benefits for Mexico. NAFTA also has had little effect on the U.S. labor market. These results confirm the consensus opinion of economists at the time of the debate. Finally, studies find that trade creation greatly exceeds trade diversion in the region under NAFTA, especially in intermediate goods.

Author(s):  
Alyssa M. Neir ◽  
Michael E. Campana

To deal with boundary and transboundary water issues along their border, the United States and Mexico established the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) in 1889. Initially dealing only with surface water flows, its flexibility permitted changes such that groundwater and water quality issues could be addressed. In 1994, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada adopted the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) primarily to facilitate trade, but which can govern water as an article of commerce. Both NAFTA and the IBWC have been instrumental in promoting peaceful solutions to water issues. The article examines three cases: (1) Mexico's protesting of a U.S. plan to line the All-American Canal on the Mexico-California; (2) the underdelivery of Mexican Rio Grande water to the U.S. state of Texas; and (3) the case of an aquifer entirely within Mexico whose supply is being stressed because of a shift in agricultural production prompted by NAFTA. The article concludes that both countries should: (1) develop a more formal system for groundwater issues and (2) exercise vigilance with respect to NAFTA's ability to treat water solely as an economic good.


2007 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwi Susanto ◽  
C. Parr Rosson ◽  
Flynn J. Adcock

This paper examines the effect of the U.S.-Mexico trade agreement under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The results suggest that U.S. agricultural imports from Mexico have been responsive to tariff rate reductions applied to Mexican products. A one percentage point decrease in tariff rates is associated with an increase in U.S. agricultural imports from Mexico by 5.31% in the first 6 years of NAFTA and by 2.62% in the last 6 years of NAFTA. U.S. imports from Mexico have also been attributable to the pre-NAFTA tariff rates. Overall, the results indicate that the U.S-Mexico trade agreement under NAFTA has been trade creating rather than trade diverting.


Author(s):  
Richard D. Mahoney

How did the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement come about? The officially named “U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement” was the stepchild of a rancorous hemispheric divorce between the United States and five Latin American governments over the proposal to extend the North American Free Trade Agreement...


Author(s):  
John P. McCray

The dramatic growth in trade between the United States and Mexico from $12.39 billion to $56.8 billion of U.S. exports and $17.56 billion to $73 billion of U.S. imports between 1977 and 1996 and the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have focused attention on the impact that the truck-transported portion of this trade has on U.S. highways. State and federal highway administrators are concerned with the planning implications this additional unexpected traffic may have on the transportation infrastructure. Public advocacy groups want additional highway funds to promote one NAFTA highway corridor over others in an effort to stimulate additional economic development. Most of these groups advocate a north-south route through the United States between Canada and Mexico that follows the alignment of an existing federal highway number. Research conducted by the U.S. government under the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act has failed to define NAFTA highway corridors adequately, leaving policy makers with little concrete information with which to combat the rhetoric of the trade highway corridor advocacy groups. A report is provided on research critical to the needs of both highway administrators and corridor advocacy groups, namely, the location of U.S.-Mexican trade highway corridors and the trade truck density along these corridors.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 656-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúl Delgado-Wise ◽  
Humberto Márquez Covarrubias

From the perspective of the political economy of development, this article analyzes the role played by Mexican labor in the U.S. productive restructuring process under the aegis of the North American Free Trade Agreement. By conceptualizing the labor export–led model it dissects three basic mechanisms of regional economic integration: maquiladoras, disguised maquilas, and labor migration. Not only does this analytical framework cast light on the contributions made by Mexican migrants to the economies of the United States and Mexico, it also reveals two paradoxes: the broadening of the socioeconomic asymmetries between the two countries, and increased socioeconomic dependence on remittances in Mexico.


2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55
Author(s):  
Kye Woo Lee

Many Asian countries arc concerned that as the negotiations for the propa;el Free T rale Agreement of the Americas (FT AA) are concluded in 2005, it may erode their share of the largest trading market, North America. As a first step roward assessing the impact of the FTAA on Asian countries, rhis paper evaluates rhe effects of FTAA's predecessor, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), on Korean external trade. Analys.as of the shifi: in shares, rrade intensity indices, and gravity models are used to assess the impact at a macro level, while trade diversion aod crearion effects are tested at sub-industty levels. Some lessons for future action are also drawn.


Global Jurist ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-55
Author(s):  
Bashar H Malkawi

Arab countries have adopted market economy principles and pursued policies designed to strengthen their economies. The cornerstone of Arab countries' long-term economic objectives has been to increase trade and support economic growth via regional and global integration. To this end, Arab countries are attempting to broaden their engagement in the multilateral trading system by joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). In addition, some Arab countries entered into trade arrangements with the United States (U.S.) to foster economic development, attract investment, and develop peaceful relationship. These trade agreements carry several implications for local economies.The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the trade agreements signed between the U.S. and Arab countries on the economic and legal regimes of the latter. The paper will proceed in two main parts. The first part analyzes the preferential trade arrangement known as "Qualifying Industrial Zones" created between the U.S on the one hand and Jordan, Israel, and Egypt on the other hand. It discusses the general rules of qualifying industrial zones program and the impact of these zones on local production and employment. The second part discusses trade agreements concluded between the U.S. and Arab countries. The emphasis will be on the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement as it is considered the template for future agreements signed between the U.S. and other Arab countries. The paper analyzes the most important provisions of the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement and their implications. Then, the paper will analyze trade agreements between the U.S. and other Arab countries. The paper argues that, while current trade programs between the U.S. and those Arab countries analyzed in the paper required difficult reforms in their domestic laws and led some negative consequence, on balance; these trade programs increased trade and created employment opportunities.


Politeja ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5(74)) ◽  
pp. 293-313
Author(s):  
Łukasz Wordliczek

The article deals with the relationship between the United States and Mexico from the perspective of the US national security. The key areas of strategic interest in Mexico on the part of the United States include: limiting illegal immigration, fighting drug-related crime, economic cooperation, both bilateral and in the wider international dimension, for example the North American Free Trade Agreement. According to the United States, all three factors and their successful implementation are necessary and constituent elements of the national interest of the United States in its most important scope, that is, in increasing the security of the state. The analysis focuses on the U.S. economic relations with Mexico at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The basis of economic relations between these countries is the North American Free Trade Agreement. The genesis of the NAFTA agreement and its effects on mutual relations in the context of the U.S. national interest and security was presented. Additionally, the reasons for President Donald Trump’s change from NAFTA to USMCA are described, from the perspective of U.S. strategic interests.


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