The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was a trade agreement designed to reduce the boundaries for goods and services across the borders of Canada, the United States and Mexico. While it did not establish a common market in the full sense of the term, NAFTA developed a free trade zone throughout North America. Negotiations for NAFTA began in July of 1991 and the final draft was completed by the summer of 1992. The leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico signed NAFTA on December 17, 1992. In Mexico, NAFTA became law as an international treaty. In both Canada and the United States, domestic legislation was required in order to implement the treaty. The NAFTA Implementation Act [P.L. 103-182, 107 Stat 2057] passed Congress in December 1993 and was codified primarily into Title 19 of the United States Code [19 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.]. NAFTA officially entered into force on January 1, 1994. In addition to the main treaty, NAFTA included two other agreements relating to environmental and labor issues: the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation.
The U.S.-Canada Free-Trade Agreement (FTA or CFTA) was a precursor to NAFTA. It was a bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Canada designed to open up the borders between the two countries. The development of the FTA acted as motivation for the development and eventual implementation of NAFTA. FTA went into effect on January 1, 1989, but was suspended following the signing of NAFTA. Were NAFTA to fail or either the U.S. or Canada to withdraw, the FTA would be reinstated.
There are a number of places where one can find the text of the NAFTA agreements, as well as its origins and negotiations. The Diamond Library contains numerous resources relating to NAFTA. Presented below are a selection of the library's resources which provide a good entry point for research in this area.
The NAFTA was superseded by United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement ("USMCA"), which took effect on July 1, 2020.
NAFTA Dispute Resolution
Dispute resolution under NAFTA was governed by Chapter 19 - Review and Dispute Settlement in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Matters and by Chapter 20 - Institutional Arrangements and Dispute Settlement Procedures. Under Article 1904, judicial review of disputes is replaced with binational panel review. Article 2002 established the Secretariat which has the authority to administer the trade disputes mechanisms specified under the NAFTA to resolve conflicts in timely and impartial manner.
NAFTA Resources
To see more background and reference works available at Diamond Law Library, including older editions, please try these searches on Pegasus:
- NAFTA
- North American Free Trade Agreement
- Subject: North American Free Trade Agreement
You can find a selected list of publications below.
The EU negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the member states – including Ireland. These agreements deal with preferential duty rates on the shipment of goods between the EU and countries around the world.
They have also evolved to cover a wider range of areas to facilitate trade. Among these include government procurement opportunities, business visitor visas, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, the certification of products, intellectual property rights and the cross border trade in services.
These far reaching agreements can take a number of years of detailed negotiations.
The EU has preferential trade agreements with about 70 countries worldwide.[1] These countries represent nearly 32% of the EU’s external trade.[2]
€3 billion worth of Irish exports are eligible for preferential tariffs as a result of these agreements.[3]
There are a number of negotiations ongoing with countries in the hope that a future free trade agreement can be reached. Some of the more significant include Australia, New Zealand and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay)
Further information on EU Free Trade Agreements
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement
In 2019 the European Union and Vietnam agreed a Free Trade Agreement. The trade agreement covers a range of goods and services. The agreements sees significant tariffs reductions on food and beverage items as well as tackling a number of non tariff barriers. The agreement also includes commitments in the areas of international labour rights and protections, global environmental agreements and human rights.
Vietnam is an exciting Asian economy. Its GDP has been one of the fastest growing in the world over the past several years. This is powered by a large, youthful population. Reflecting the increased business potential, Enterprise Ireland has recently opened an office in Vietnam for the first time.
EU-Vietnam’s Free Trade Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
Further information on the EU-Vietnam Economic Partnership Agreement
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
The European Union and Japan have signed the Economic Partnership Agreement, a comprehensive trade agreement including goods, services and investment, eliminating tariffs, non-tariff barriers and other trade-related issues, such as public procurement, regulatory issues, competition, and sustainable development.
Japan is one of the key trading partners of the European Union, it is its seventh largest trading partner globally and the second biggest one in Asia. Conversely, the European Union is Japan’s third largest trading partner. Together economies of Japan and the EU account for more than one third of world GDP.
The EPA applies as of 1 February 2019.
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement infographic
Further information on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
EU-Canada – Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)
CETA was signed on 21 October 2017. The benefits related to tariffs are in force. CETA was the first of the new generation of trade agreements signed by the EU.
EU-Canada – Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)
EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
EU-Canada – Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement infographic
EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
In October 2018, the EU and Singapore signed a Free Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA). The EU-Singapore FTA is the first FTA between the EU and a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). This Agreement entered into force on 21 November 2019.
EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
Further information on the EU-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement
Modernisation of the EU-Mexico Global Agreement
This has been agreed in principle with some outstanding technical issues being finalised during 2019.
Modernisation of the EU-Mexico Global Agreement
[1] trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1933
[2] trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/october/tradoc_157468.pdf
[3] EU EXPORTS, PREFERENCES UTILISATION AND DUTY SAVINGS BY MEMBER STATE, SECTOR AND PARTNER COUNTRY
Lars Nilsson and Nicolas Preillon