Nafta is a North American Free Trade Area. Features and main areas of activity nafta

North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA)- Free trade agreement between Canada, USA and Mexico, based on the model of the European Community (European Union).

The initiator and leader of the association is the United States, which combined its financial and innovative power with the richest natural and cheap labor resources of Mexico, fundamentally expanded the sales markets for American competitive products. American multinational corporations permeate all of North America. Not the least role is played by the geopolitical ambitions of the United States, which views Mexico as a gateway to Latin America - the start for the creation of a Pan American Free Trade Area covering the entire American continent (FTAA).

The first step was the Abbott Plan, adopted in 1947, which aimed to stimulate US investment in leading sectors of the Canadian economy. In 1959, the United States and Canada entered into a joint military production agreement that facilitated the implementation of American standards in Canadian manufacturing. military equipment.

The next step was the conclusion in 1965 of an agreement on the liberalization of trade in automotive products, which contributed to the integration of many other industries. The idea of ​​a trade and political unification of the United States, Canada and Mexico began to be implemented in the 1970s. First, it was about the registration of an energy union. A similar idea was supported in the 1980s by Presidents R. Reagan and George W. Bush.

In September 1988, after difficult three years of negotiations, the American-Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) was signed, according to which a free trade zone was to be formed between the United States and Canada within ten years.

Due to the integration processes taking place in Europe and Asia in the 1980s, the question of creating NAFTA became more acute, since it became clear that the answer to the unification of Europe should be the unification of America, and, as a part of it, North America. However, from the outset, Mexico, Canada and the United States viewed the significance and potential of NAFTA from different perspectives.

The North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) Agreement entered into force on January 1, 1994, retaining and reaffirming the 1988 United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA).

Mexico's gain is that the flow of capital that rushed from the United States, in particular direct investment, made it possible to restructure the economy and gave impetus to the development of infrastructure (roads, bridges, telecommunications, etc.). The share of American TNCs in the total amount of foreign investment was approximately 2/3. In northern Mexico, the maquiladoras, the assembly plants of American multinational corporations, became the main economic units. This allowed Mexico to dramatically increase its exports of finished goods to the United States. The US share in Mexican foreign trade rose to 90%. Up to 500,000 Mexican braceros enter the United States annually. Their financial transfers to their homeland reach $ 10 billion a year, which is comparable to Mexico's revenues from oil exports.

Objectives of NAFTA

NAFTA is currently the world's largest regional free trade area, with a population of 406 million and a combined gross product of $ 10.3 trillion. The North American Free Trade Agreement contains a set of agreements that extend beyond trade to the services and investment sectors, and for the first time brings together industrialized states and a developing country. The creation of a free trade zone in the North American region was driven by a number of factors:

the geographical proximity of the participating countries and the elements of complementarity of the structures of national economies;

close trade ties between them and expanding production cooperation;

a growing network of controlled enterprises of American TNCs in Canada and Mexico and Canadian TNCs in the United States;

strengthening the positions of the EU, Japan and newly industrialized countries in the world market.

The main goal of NAFTA was to remove barriers to trade in goods between the participating countries. Half of the barrier restrictions were removed immediately, the rest were removed gradually over the course of 14 years. This agreement was an extended version of the 1989 trade agreement between Canada and the United States.

Unlike the European Union, NAFTA did not set the goal of creating interstate administrative bodies, nor did it set out the creation of laws that would govern such a system. NAFTA is only an international trade agreement under international law... To date, NAFTA's goals include:

removing barriers and stimulating the movement of goods and services between the countries participating in the agreement;

creation and maintenance of conditions for fair competition in the free trade zone;

attraction of investments to the member countries of the agreement;

ensuring proper and effective protection and protection of intellectual property rights in the Zone;

creation of effective mechanisms for the implementation and use of the Agreement, joint dispute resolution and management;

establishing the basis for future trilateral, regional and international cooperation in order to expand and improve the Agreement.

Structure of NAFTA

NAFTA has a clear organizational structure. The central institution of NAFTA is the Free Trade Commission, which includes representatives at the ministerial level of trade from the three member countries. The Commission oversees the implementation and further development of the Agreement and helps resolve disputes arising from the interpretation of the Agreement. She also oversees the work of more than 30 committees and working groups of NAFTA. The last meetings of the Commission were held in Washington, USA in 1997 and in Mexico City in early 1998.

Ministers agreed that the Commission would be assisted in its work by the NAFTA Coordinating Secretariat (NCS), which was scheduled to be established in late 1997 in Mexico City. The Secretariat is intended to serve as the official archive of the work of NAFTA and to act as a working secretariat to the Commission.

NAFTA envisions further work to help achieve the creation of a free trade area. In accordance with the Agreement, with the aim of promoting trade and investment. More than 30 working groups and committees have been established to ensure the effective implementation and administration of NAFTA standards. The main areas in which regulation work is underway include the origin of goods, customs, agricultural trade and subsidies to this area of ​​the economy, standardization of goods, government procurement, and the movement of devil people across borders. These working groups and committees report annually to the NAFTA Commission.

NAFTA Working Groups and Committees are also helping to make the implementation of NAFTA smoother, providing a forum for exploring ways to further liberalize trade between member countries. An example is Canada's consistent policy of accelerating tariff reductions on certain types of goods. In addition, NAFTA working groups and committees create a policy-free arena for debate and by using early debate to help avoid dispute resolution procedures.

Currently, most of the trade in North America takes place in accordance with the clear, concise and well-established rules of NAFTA and the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, despite this, in the field of trade of this magnitude invariably arise controversial issues... When such situations arise, NAFTA advocates for the friendly resolution of the dispute by the states whose interests are affected, with the help of NAFTA committees and working groups or other advisory bodies. If a mutually acceptable solution is not found, NAFTA provides for a prompt and effective consideration of the problem by a group of experts.

The administration of NAFTA dispute resolution provisions rests with the Canadian, American and Mexican National Sections of the NAFTA Secretariat. In the first nine months of fiscal year 1996-97, the Secretariat appointed 14 Chapter 19 Panel Reviews and one Chapter 20 Arbitration Review. In 1996, eight Chapter 19 Panel Decisions and one Chapter 20 Panel Report were issued.

Chapter Twenty of the North American Free Trade Agreement sets out the institutional mechanism and procedure for resolving disputes. At the end of 1996, in accordance with this chapter, 11 consultations were requested in 10 cases, one of which was referred for arbitration. The fourteenth chapter additionally stipulates special procedures for resolving any disputes related to financial services.

Building on the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement (FTA), NAFTA includes (in Chapter 19) a unique system for reviewing national anti-dumping and countervailing duty decisions by experts from two countries, thereby superseding legal review for each of the three countries. ... Since the adoption of NAFTA, 73 requests have already been received for the consideration of the issue by a group of experts, in accordance with Chapter 19 of the Agreement.

As for resolving issues related to investments, NAFTA uses procedures of "mixed" arbitration between the investor whose interests are harmed and the government concerned, based on the general procedures established by the Canadian treaties on the protection of foreign investment and the World Banking Center for Settlement of Disputes Related to Investment ... NAFTA also requires national agencies to respect the principles of fairness and transparency.

National Sections of NAFTA are also responsible for resolving disputes under other free trade agreements entered into by these countries outside of NAFTA. Thus, back in 1997, the Canadian section of the NAFTA Secretariat was assigned the responsibility for administering the dispute resolution process under Chapter 8 of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and the same responsibility under the Canada-Chilean Free Trade Agreement.

Economic characteristics of NAFTA

The scale of the economic relationship between the United States, Canada and Mexico based on mutual trade and capital movement can be judged from the following data. About 75-80% of Canadian exports (20% of Canada's GDP) are sold in the United States. The share of the United States in foreign direct investment in Canada is over 75% and Canada in the United States is 9%. About 70% of Mexican exports go to the United States, and 65% of Mexican imports come from there. The share of the United States in the total inflow of foreign direct investment in Mexico exceeds 60%. The US GDP is 14.5 times that of Canada and 19 times that of Mexico.

The North American integration group is comparable to the European Union in terms of population, gross gross product and a number of basic economic indicators. NAFTA has a powerful (especially thanks to the US) economic potential for example, the US, Canada, and Mexico produce $ 5 trillion of goods and services annually, and their share in world trade is nearly 20%. The structure of the North American integration complex has its own characteristics in comparison with the European model of integration.

The main difference is the asymmetry of the economic dependence of the USA, Canada and Mexico. Interaction business structures Mexico and Canada are far behind in depth and scale of Canadian-American and Mexican-American integration. Canada and Mexico are more likely competitors in the American market for goods and work force, rivals in attracting capital and technology of American corporations than partners in the integration process.

Another feature of the North American economic grouping is that its members are in different starting conditions. If Canada over the past decade has managed to approach the United States in terms of the main economic macro indicators (GDP per capita, labor productivity), Mexico, which for many years was in the position of an economically backward state with large external debt, is still noticeably lagging behind these countries in terms of the main basic indicators.

The difference in GDP per capita between Mexico and the United States reaches 6.6 times, and with Canada - 4.1 times. Such a significant gap in levels economic development member countries make it difficult to create a single economic complex.

It is also worth noting that within NAFTA, unlike the EU and APEC, there is only one center of economic power - the United States, whose economy is several times larger than Canada and Mexico combined. This monocentricity makes management easier (a leader country can easily impose its decisions on weaker partners), but at the same time creates an environment of potential conflicts (US partners may be dissatisfied with their subordinate position). In addition, integration turns out to be one-sided: Canada and Mexico are closely integrated with the United States, but not with each other.

However, the United States has received significant benefits from this agreement:

in the vast majority of industries, barriers against foreign manufacturers from NAFTA partner countries were gradually minimized, which made it possible to buy many goods from them cheaper than in the United States itself;

much broader opportunities for access to the markets of neighboring countries were opened up for American companies, which expanded the sales market.

US participation in the regional integration process has become a powerful factor in the long-term positive impact on domestic economic development.

The total trade turnover with Mexico in 1993-1997 alone increased by almost 2.5 times (from $ 80.5 billion to $ 197 billion), with Canada - almost doubled (from $ 197 to 364 billion). Both of these countries account for a third of US foreign trade. In the early 2000s, the average annual increase in trade with Mexico was over 20%, with Canada - 10%. Duty-free status has spread to two-thirds of all US exports to the region, and opportunities continue to expand. The United States needs this kind of regional economic integration to improve its competitiveness against its main economic rivals - the EU and Japan.

Characteristics of NAFTA countries (as of 2013)

Source - CIA World Factbook

At the same time, various environmental and trade union groups in the United States, like many members of the American Congress, fear the relocation of American business activity to Mexico, with its low labor and environmental standards. In addition, Americans are afraid of the growing flow of immigrants from Mexico since the 1990s, which in the 2000s has already reached 300 thousand people a year. This "Latin Americanization" of the United States seems to many Americans to be a threat to their civilization based on the values ​​of Protestant European culture.

About Mexico's role in NAFTA

For Mexico, NAFTA membership means guaranteed access to the American market, absorbing approx. 80% of all Mexican exports, an increase in foreign investment. The desire for economic integration with the United States was the impetus for neoliberal reforms undertaken by the Mexican government in the early 1980s, abandoning an import-substituting development strategy.

Through regional unification with the United States, Mexico began to gradually integrate into the global economy. Of particular importance for her was also a positive solution to the issue of external debt after significant financial losses incurred in the 1980s: the Mexican government obtained large loans from the United States to implement free trade agreements. Many foreign companies began to relocate their activities to Mexico in order to penetrate the American and Canadian markets. Foreign direct investment in Mexico doubled in 1993-1999 alone.

Critics of Mexico's NAFTA membership point out that it benefits almost exclusively the elite, not the working class. The attractiveness of Mexico for foreign entrepreneurs is largely due to the low standard of living (low wages) and low environmental standards. Therefore, the United States has shown little interest in improving the living standards of Mexicans.

Participation in NAFTA has turned Mexico on to a program of trade liberalization and economic restructuring that makes it difficult to move away from it in the future, and almost impossible to return to economic independence.

About Canada's role in NAFTA

Canada is objectively a stronger NAFTA member than Mexico, but weaker than the United States. Therefore, Canada is inclined to block with Mexico in defending its interests, to put pressure on Washington. In the early 1990s, Canada relied on the support of Mexico to counter the protectionist actions of the United States. In turn, Mexico received Canadian support in 1995 when it approached the IMF and the IBRD when it became necessary to urgently intervene to save the Mexican peso.

Canada is actively in favor of expanding the free trade zone, considering Chile, as well as Colombia and Argentina, to be the primary candidates for joining the bloc. Demonstrating their independence and decisiveness, the Canadians declared that they would not wait for the Americans, and in 1996 entered into a bilateral agreement with Chile on free trade, modeled on NAFTA, as well as two additional ones on regulation. labor relations and about the protection environment- modeled on the corresponding tripartite agreements of 1993 between Canada, the United States and Mexico. Canada has concluded various bilateral agreements with many Latin American countries on certain issues of economic cooperation, and is persistently promoting the idea of ​​integrating NAFTA with MERCOSUR. Canada has been actively involved in the implementation of the FTAA plan. In 1998, she took over as the chair of the negotiations to conclude this agreement, which was declared a priority for Canadian policy in the region.

Thus, Canada within just one decade has turned from a rather passive observer into a full and active participant in multilateral processes and activities of the countries of the region. At the same time, Canadians act in their traditional role of mediator between countries with different levels of economic development and different ideological orientations.

Participation in KUFTA and NAFTA gave a strong impetus to the Canadian economy: in 1989-2000 alone, the volume of Canadian exports more than doubled, the share of machinery and equipment in it increased from 28% in 1980 to 45% in 1999. This refutes the fears of those opponents of the free trade agreement on the North American continent, who believed that it would lead to the "de-industrialization" of the Canadian economy.

In 2000, exports to the United States accounted for about 33% of Canada's total GDP, compared with 15% in 1989. The link to the American market was especially strong in the two largest provinces in Canada in terms of population and economic potential - in Ontario (the share of exports to the United States is 40% gross product) and Quebec (24%).

There are no permanent supranational bodies in NAFTA. As a rule, all decisions are made by the senior officials of the partner states. The main provisions of the Agreement are reduced to the elimination of tariff barriers to trade in goods and services between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The NAFTA Agreement has had a constructive impact on the economic relations of the participating countries. The treaty aims to liberalize relations between the United States and Mexico and between Canada and Mexico, as relations between the United States and Canada were liberalized within the framework of the bilateral free trade zone, created in 1988.

The provision of the Agreement in the field of investment cooperation establishes a non-discriminatory regime for investors of the participating countries in the creation of enterprises (FDI), acquisition of companies, their expansion and management. Investors have the right to the repatriation of profits and capital, to receive just compensation in the event of expropriation, to dispute resolution in government arbitration. This elimination of barriers has led to a significant increase in investment within NAFTA.

The main sources of investment in NAFTA are TNCs. Their activities are concentrated mainly in knowledge-intensive industries (in the United States and Canada) and in manufacturing (in Mexico). As a result of the Agreement, the volume of mutual investments in the period 1994 to 2008 increased 6 times. Investment cooperation was carried out according to the USA - Canada, USA - Mexico scheme.

The sectoral structure of mutual investments of the USA, Canada and Mexico is different. Mutual FDI between the United States and Canada, like other developed countries, is mainly concentrated in the services sector - banking and financial, while in Mexico these countries invest mainly in the manufacturing sector.

FDI has a positive effect on the economy of the host country only if there is a clear and competent government program for interaction with foreign investors. In the absence of such a program, FDI could negatively affect future the economic growth countries.

Integration within the framework of NAFTA has greatly contributed to the development of trade, production specialization and implementation modern technologies in various sectors of the economy. Intrazone trade grew at a faster rate than US, Canal and Mexico trade with other countries. The NAFTA Treaty also facilitated the integration process in the service sector (financial sector, trade, transport, healthcare and communications) and in the protection of intellectual property.

The asymmetry of development of NAFTA includes asymmetry: industrial capacities member countries, stemming from the fact that the United States accounts for about 85% of the GDP and industrial production of the three countries; levels of development between highly developed countries (USA and Canada) and developing Mexico; the intensity of bilateral economic relations (USA - Canada, USA - Mexico); lack of mature economic relations between Canada and Mexico.

The USA considers the countries of Latin America as one of the priority directions of development of integration processes with the participation of NAFTA. In the future, NAFTA may become the basis for the future Inter-American Free Trade Area (FTAA), the creation of which has been postponed for now. The Caribbean and Central American regions are now more integrated into NAFTA than with their faction partners, not only through trade and finance, but also at a deeper level of industrial integration.

Background and history of the creation of NAFTA

The association is one of the world's largest regional free trade zones with an area of ​​21.78 million km 2 and a population of over 450 million people. and aggregate GDP of about $ 16.5 trillion in 2008 (at the time of formation, respectively, 390 million people and $ 8.04 trillion).

The agreement on the creation of NAFTA is the result of more than half a century of movement of these countries, and especially the USA and Canada, towards trade, economic and political unification (Table 1). Throughout the XX century. the economic boundaries between USA and Canada through the relative liberalization of the movement of goods, capital and labor. A qualitative change in economic relations between the United States and Canada took place in 1988, when the American-Canadian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was concluded at the interstate level, designed to provide Canadian goods with guaranteed and privileged access to the US domestic market.

Table 1. Stages of development of trade and economic relations in North America

Features and main activities of NAFTA

Key provisions of the NAFTA agreement (Table 2):

§ Phased cancellation of all customs duties on goods traded among themselves by the United States, Canada and Mexico by 2010

§ Phased elimination of a significant number of NTBs to trade in goods and services.

§ Mitigation of the regime for North American capitals & companies in Mexico.

§ Liberalization of the activities of American and Canadian banks in the financial market in Mexico.

§ Protecting the North American market from the expansion of Asian and European companies trying to avoid US duties by re-exporting their goods to the United States through Mexico.

§ Creation of the American-Canadian Arbitration Commission.

The agreement on the creation of NAFTA assumes that the participating countries maintain national customs tariffs in trade with third countries. But in mutual trade, after a transitional period of 10 (in some cases, 15) years in this economic zone, there should be free circulation of goods that qualify as produced in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The implementation of the agreement will lead to the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. It is envisaged to improve trade in services, establish fair rules for mutual investment and public procurement, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, and create a mechanism for resolving disputes.

Table 2. Key provisions of the NAFTA agreement

Simultaneously, NAFTA establishes protectionist rules against non-continental producers in textile industry and the automotive industry.

Removing tariffs and other protectionist barriers, NAFTA has a number of limitations (exceptions):

§ Installs restrictive trading rules a number of goods and investments in some sectors of the economy, which are especially “sensitive” to foreign competition, and different schedules for reducing duties. It refers to agriculture, energy, automotive products, textiles. In the Agreement, all goods are divided into three large groups- industrial (excluding textiles), agricultural and textile products, including clothing. Schedules for reducing duties have been developed for each group, and immediate removal of duties has been envisaged and implemented for a number of industrial products.

§ Contains clauses allowing the temporary restoration of protection for industries that have been damaged by the import of relevant products.

§ Contains exceptions to the free trade regime. Thus, it retains: Mexico's right to prohibit foreign activities in the oil sector: Canada's right to protect certain culturally important sectors (broadcasting, production of films, records, books, etc.); US right to support domestic prices and maintain a procurement system for agricultural commodities.

Differentiated conditions for trade liberalization are also provided for individual countries participating in the integration bloc. For example, Mexican tariffs on imports of American manufactured goods were eliminated within 10 years. About half of the Mexican duties were eliminated when the Agreement entered into force. Subsequently (within five years), up to 70% of all goods from the United States were imported into Mexico duty-free. For its part, Mexico gained easier access to much of the North American market; the removal of duties over five years extended to almost 90% of industrial products.

At the same time, tariffs on a small number of products “sensitive” to American industry were not eliminated until almost the end of the 15-year period. Trade tariffs between Mexico and Canada were also phased out over the course of 10 years. In mutual trade between the United States and Canada, there was an agreement not to change the tariff reduction schedules previously developed within the framework of a bilateral agreement between them in 1989.

conclusions

There are no permanent supranational bodies in NAFTA. As a rule, all decisions are made by the senior officials of the partner states. The main provisions of the Agreement are reduced to the elimination of tariff barriers to trade in goods and services between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The NAFTA Agreement has had a constructive impact on the economic relations of the participating countries. The treaty aims to liberalize relations between the United States and Mexico and between Canada and Mexico, as relations between the United States and Canada were liberalized within the framework of the bilateral free trade zone, created in 1988.

The provision of the Agreement in the field of investment cooperation establishes a non-discriminatory regime for investors of the participating countries in the creation of enterprises (FDI), acquisition of companies, their expansion and management. Investors have the right to the repatriation of profits and capital, to receive just compensation in the event of expropriation, to dispute resolution in government arbitration. This elimination of barriers has led to a significant increase in investment within NAFTA.

The main sources of investment in NAFTA are TNCs. Their activities are concentrated mainly in knowledge-intensive industries (in the United States and Canada) and in manufacturing (in Mexico). As a result of the Agreement, the volume of mutual investments in the period 1994 to 2008 increased 6 times. Investment cooperation was carried out according to the USA - Canada, USA - Mexico scheme.

The sectoral structure of mutual investments of the USA, Canada and Mexico is different. Mutual FDI between the United States and Canada, like other developed countries, is mainly concentrated in the services sector - banking and financial, while in Mexico these countries invest mainly in the manufacturing sector.

FDI has a positive effect on the economy of the host country only if there is a clear and competent government program for interaction with foreign investors. In the absence of such a program, FDI can negatively affect the further economic growth of the country.

Integration within the framework of NAFTA has largely contributed to the development of trade, specialization of production and the introduction of modern technologies in various sectors of the economy. Intrazone trade grew at a faster rate than US, Canal and Mexico trade with other countries. The NAFTA Treaty also facilitated the integration process in the service sector (financial sector, trade, transport, healthcare and communications) and in the protection of intellectual property.

The asymmetry of development of NAFTA includes the asymmetry of: the industrial potentials of the participating countries, resulting from the fact that the United States accounts for about 85% of the GDP and industrial production of the three countries; levels of development between highly developed countries (USA and Canada) and developing Mexico; the intensity of bilateral economic relations (USA - Canada, USA - Mexico); lack of mature economic relations between Canada and Mexico.

The USA considers the countries of Latin America as one of the priority directions of development of integration processes with the participation of NAFTA. In the future, NAFTA may become the basis for the future Inter-American Free Trade Area (FTAA), the creation of which has been postponed for now. The Caribbean and Central American regions are now more integrated into NAFTA than with their faction partners, not only through trade and finance, but also at a deeper level of industrial integration.

3 Stages of the integration process

NAFTA envisages a program to eliminate tariff barriers, which includes four stages:

The first stage in the formation of NAFTA is characterized by the fact that within 5 years the participating countries are actively canceling tariff barriers. For example, the United States removed 79% of tariffs on Canadian exports and 84% on Mexican exports. Only the "oil export" remained untouched. In turn, Mexico eliminated 43% of tariff restrictions on US goods and 41% on Canadian goods, of which 80% are fixed assets and chemicals.

During the second phase, in 1999, the United States and Canada eliminated tariffs on nearly 1,200 types of goods. Mexico, in turn, removed tariff restrictions on almost 2,500 types of goods, the share of which in US and Canadian exports is 18% and 19%, respectively.

In the third phase, which was completed in 2004, the US and Canada lifted tariff restrictions on 12 and 7% of Mexican "oil exports", while Mexico removed tariffs on 48% of US and Canadian exports.

In the fourth stage, the remaining tariff restrictions on the import of special types of goods that are sensitive to market shifts and climatic conditions should be removed. The duties on them are supposed to be completely abolished by 2010.

The achievement of NAFTA is to eliminate discrimination against the import of Mexican goods into the US and Canadian markets, which, in turn, helps to increase the volume and efficiency of American and Canadian exports. Removing tariff restrictions will also help modernize the Mexican economy and provide a more secure investment climate.

Despite the main idea of ​​creating a North American Free Trade Area - a complete reform of trade between countries on mutually beneficial terms, a number of exceptions are allowed. During the negotiations, the parties insisted on the exclusion of certain industries from NAFTA. But for the countries, these industries are strategic, therefore, when the agreement was concluded, the main volumes of restrictions on capital investments were retained.

Within the framework of NAFTA, issues related to trade in services, movement of investments and intellectual property rights were also addressed.

2 The beginning of integration processes in the North American region

The first step aimed at revitalizing integration processes in North America was the implementation of the "Abbott plan", the purpose of which was to stimulate US investment in the leading sectors of the Canadian economy. This plan was adopted in 1947. Later in 1959, the United States and Canada entered into a joint military production agreement, which contributed to the implementation of American standards in Canadian military equipment production.

The next step in the development of bilateral relations between the United States and Canada was the conclusion in 1965 of an agreement on the liberalization of trade in automotive products, which, in turn, stimulated the integration of many other industries.

The trade and political union of the United States, Canada and Mexico began to be actively implemented in the 1970s. Initially, it was only about the registration of the energy union. Then the prospects for the creation of a North American Free Trade Area were considered. A similar idea was supported by Presidents R. Reagan and George W. Bush in the 1980s.

In September 1988, after difficult three years of negotiations, the American-Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) was signed, according to which a free trade zone should be formed between the United States and Canada within ten years. In January 1989, this agreement entered into force.

Changes in the economic and political situation in the world in the late 1980s, the intensification of integration processes in Europe and Asia, growing competition from Japan, and socio-political reforms in Latin America again raised the issue of creating a North American free trade zone.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed on October 7, 1992 by the Presidents of the United States and Mexico and by the Prime Minister of Canada, supplemented by agreements dated September 13, 1993, and entered into force on January 1, 1994.

NAFTA paved the way for the creation of a single continental market and the freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labor. This agreement implied the merger of the three national markets and the formation of a free trade zone with a population of over 375 million people, with a combined gross product of about 9 trillion. dollars (in current prices) and a share in world exports of about 17%.

NAFTA is the North American Free Trade Area, which is an agreement between countries such as America, Canada and Mexico. A single market zone was formed on the territory of these states. The agreement between the states was signed by its heads in 1994. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the countries that make up the association have undertaken to completely eliminate both customs and passport barriers in the next decade. Agreements were also reached to establish rules for the formation of fair competition and the creation of necessary conditions for the free movement of services with capital.

Legal Aspects

From a legal point of view, NAFTA is a modernized US-Canada Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in 1988. If we consider the agreement between the countries as a political phenomenon, then it acts in the format of America's reaction to the procedure, including in education, which took place in 1992.

NAFTA supports model orientation in the aspect The difference lies in the lack of desire to form political supranational bodies. This is due to the developed differentiation of countries: America and Canada are highly developed regions, and Mexico is an actively developing area. NAFTA significantly differs from the EU in terms of the number of countries, but significantly surpasses it not only in terms of GDP, but also in terms of population. It can be concluded that it is NAFTA that is the world's largest economic association.

What are the prospects for cooperation?

Thanks to cooperation, NAFTA member countries have intensified trade and economic relations, while not only new ways of development have been opened, a number of restrictions have appeared. America partially transferred industrial production to the territory of Mexico, began to import a wide range of goods from this state for more low prices in comparison with the import of similar goods from America.

At the same time, activity in the US labor market has increased as capacity flows to Mexico. The problem of deflation has intensified. For Mexico, the doors to the markets of the United States and other developed countries have opened, the volume of foreign investment has increased, including the volume of lending to the state's economy.

As for economic dividends, they were one-sided for a developing country. Only the elite felt the enrichment. Canada is the most harmonious in the structure of the association. It managed to avoid large-scale de-industrialization while increasing industrial exports. Canada's primary role has been to mediate relations between America and the states of Latin America.

What is NAFTA?

An exclusive economic zone is essentially a set of agreements that extends not only to the service and investment sector, but also covers the association.The provisions of the agreements regarding business activities in North America include:

• Access to investment markets.
• Guarantees.
• Services and intellectual property rights.
• State procurements.
• Measures to comply with standards.
• Entrance for businessmen.
• Solving conflict situations.

Obligations of the participating countries

The exclusive economic zone has imposed certain restrictions on the participating countries. Thus, America, Canada and Mexico are obliged to maintain their national customs tariffs in terms of trade with third countries.

The free circulation of goods was approved after a transitional period of 10 years (sometimes 15 years) in the zone of the economic association. The rule applies to products that are identified as manufactured in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The agreement provides for improving the terms of trade in services, setting up a mechanism for mutual investment.

The agreement contains reservations regarding the temporary restoration of protection for some who have suffered losses as a result of the import of certain categories of goods. The NAFTA countries listed above must follow separate exceptions to the general free economic regime.

Exceptions to the rule

Against the background of the creation of the zone, there are moments that do not meet the standard of agreement. So, within the framework of the NAFTA association (North American Free Trade Area), the following standards continue to apply:

• Mexico reserved the right to impose restrictions on foreign activities in the oil segment.
• Canada has the right to restrict access to certain segments of information that are culturally important. These are broadcasting and film production, book publishing and record production.
• The United States retained the right to maintain the optimal level of domestic prices, the right to save procurement systems in the agricultural segment.

Specificity of the elimination of duties

All products within the framework of cooperation are divided into three categories. It is an industrial group (excluding textile products), an agricultural group and a textile group with apparel inclusive. Each product category has its own individual duty reduction schedule. It is worth mentioning the complete removal of duties on different groups of products. In the future, the NAFTA merger sets much more significant goals. Within 5-15 years, it is planned to completely abolish most of the duties.

Investment activity within the framework of the association, etc.

Within the framework of the NAFTA association, the member countries of which were listed above, there are 5 dominant principles for protecting foreign investors and their capital. This is:

The agreement provides for legal liability for infringement on patents, trademarks and intellectual property. There is legislation that allows you to determine the area of ​​production of goods. So, the product is assigned to the state in the territory of which it was subjected to the greatest processing (calculated as a percentage).

The goals of the association

NAFTA is a large-scale regional free trade area with a population of 406 million and a combined GDP of $ 10.3 trillion. The formation of the tandem is due to a number of parameters and a list of goals that were planned to be achieved. The prerequisites for creating an association include the following:

It is quite clear for what reasons the NAFTA association was formed. The participating countries, signing the agreement, in addition to the effectiveness of the partnership, also pursued a number of goals. This is the activation of trade by eliminating any restrictions, creating a healthy competitive environment, attracting investment, ensuring a high level of protection of intellectual property. The association does not stop developing today, constantly expanding its spheres of influence.

The North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) is a free trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico, based on the European Community (European Union) model.

The first step was the Abbott Plan, adopted in 1947, which aimed to stimulate US investment in leading sectors of the Canadian economy. In 1959, the United States and Canada entered into a joint military production agreement that promoted the implementation of American standards in Canadian military equipment production.

The next step was the conclusion in 1965 of an agreement on the liberalization of trade in automotive products, which contributed to the integration of many other industries. The idea of ​​a trade and political unification of the United States, Canada and Mexico began to be implemented in the 1970s. First, it was about the registration of an energy union. A similar idea was supported in the 1980s by Presidents R. Reagan and George W. Bush.

In September 1988, after difficult three years of negotiations, the American-Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) was signed, according to which a free trade zone was to be formed between the United States and Canada within ten years.

Due to the integration processes taking place in Europe and Asia in the 1980s, the question of creating NAFTA became more acute, since it became clear that the answer to the unification of Europe should be the unification of America, and, as a part of it, North America. However, from the outset, Mexico, Canada and the United States viewed the significance and potential of NAFTA from different perspectives.

The North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) Agreement entered into force on January 1, 1994, retaining and reaffirming the 1988 United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA).

Objectives of NAFTA

NAFTA is currently the world's largest regional free trade area, with a population of 406 million and a combined gross product of $ 10.3 trillion. The North American Free Trade Agreement contains a set of agreements that extend beyond trade to the services and investment sectors, and for the first time brings together industrialized states and a developing country. The creation of a free trade zone in the North American region was driven by a number of factors:

• the geographical proximity of the participating countries and the elements of complementarity of the structures of national economies;
• close trade ties between them and expanding production cooperation;
• a growing network of controlled enterprises of American TNCs in Canada and Mexico and Canadian TNCs in the United States;
• strengthening the positions of the EU, Japan and newly industrialized countries in the world market.

The main goal of NAFTA was to remove barriers to trade in goods between the participating countries. Half of the barrier restrictions were removed immediately, the rest were removed gradually over the course of 14 years. This agreement was an extended version of the 1989 trade agreement between Canada and the United States.

Unlike the European Union, NAFTA did not set the goal of creating interstate administrative bodies, nor did it set out the creation of laws that would govern such a system. NAFTA is only an international trade agreement under international law. To date, NAFTA's goals include:

• removing barriers and stimulating the movement of goods and services between the countries participating in the agreement;
• creation and maintenance of conditions for fair competition in the free trade zone;
• attraction of investments to the member countries of the agreement;
• ensuring proper and effective protection and protection of intellectual property rights in the Zone;
• creation of effective mechanisms for the implementation and use of the Agreement, joint dispute resolution and management;
• establishing the basis for future trilateral, regional and international cooperation in order to expand and improve the Agreement.

Structure of NAFTA

NAFTA has a clear organizational structure... The central institution of NAFTA is the Free Trade Commission, which includes representatives at the ministerial level of trade from the three member countries. The Commission oversees the implementation and further development of the Agreement and helps resolve disputes arising from the interpretation of the Agreement. She also oversees the work of more than 30 committees and working groups of NAFTA. The last meetings of the Commission were held in Washington, USA in 1997 and in Mexico City in early 1998.

Ministers agreed that the Commission would be assisted in its work by the NAFTA Coordinating Secretariat (NCS), which was scheduled to be established in late 1997 in Mexico City. The Secretariat is intended to serve as the official archive of the work of NAFTA and to act as a working secretariat to the Commission.

NAFTA envisions further work to help achieve the creation of a free trade area. In accordance with the Agreement, with the aim of promoting trade and investment. More than 30 working groups and committees have been established to ensure the effective implementation and administration of NAFTA standards. The main areas in which regulation work is underway include the origin of goods, customs, agricultural trade and subsidies to this area of ​​the economy, standardization of goods, government procurement, and the movement of devil people across borders. These working groups and committees report annually to the NAFTA Commission.

NAFTA Working Groups and Committees are also helping to make the implementation of NAFTA smoother, providing a forum for exploring ways to further liberalize trade between member countries. An example is Canada's consistent policy of accelerating tariff reductions on certain types of goods. In addition, NAFTA working groups and committees create a policy-free arena for debate and by using early debate to help avoid dispute resolution procedures.

Currently, most of the trade in North America takes place in accordance with the clear, concise and well-established rules of NAFTA and the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, despite this, in the field of trade of this magnitude, controversial issues invariably arise. When such situations arise, NAFTA advocates for the friendly resolution of the dispute by the states whose interests are affected, with the help of NAFTA committees and working groups or other advisory bodies. If a mutually acceptable solution is not found, NAFTA provides for a prompt and effective consideration of the problem by a group of experts.

The administration of NAFTA dispute resolution provisions rests with the Canadian, American and Mexican National Sections of the NAFTA Secretariat. In the first nine months of fiscal year 1996-97, the Secretariat appointed 14 Chapter 19 Panel Reviews and one Chapter 20 Arbitration Review. In 1996, eight Chapter 19 Panel Decisions and one Chapter 20 Panel Report were issued.

Chapter Twenty of the North American Free Trade Agreement sets out the institutional mechanism and procedure for resolving disputes. At the end of 1996, in accordance with this chapter, 11 consultations were requested in 10 cases, one of which was referred for arbitration. The fourteenth chapter additionally stipulates special procedures for resolving any disputes related to financial services.

Building on the Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement (FTA), NAFTA includes (in Chapter 19) a unique system for reviewing national anti-dumping and countervailing duty decisions by experts from two countries, thereby superseding legal review for each of the three countries. ... Since the adoption of NAFTA, 73 requests have already been received for the consideration of the issue by a group of experts, in accordance with Chapter 19 of the Agreement.

As for resolving issues related to investments, NAFTA uses procedures of "mixed" arbitration between the investor whose interests are harmed and the government concerned, based on the general procedures established by the Canadian treaties on the protection of foreign investment and the World Banking Center for Settlement of Disputes Related to Investment ... NAFTA also requires national agencies to respect the principles of fairness and transparency.

National Sections of NAFTA are also responsible for resolving disputes under other free trade agreements entered into by these countries outside of NAFTA. Thus, back in 1997, the Canadian section of the NAFTA Secretariat was assigned the responsibility for administering the dispute resolution process under Chapter 8 of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and the same responsibility under the Canada-Chilean Free Trade Agreement.

Economic characteristics of NAFTA

The scale of the economic relationship between the United States, Canada and Mexico based on mutual trade and capital movement can be judged from the following data. About 75-80% of Canadian exports (20% of Canada's GDP) are sold in the United States. The share of the United States in foreign direct investment in Canada is over 75% and Canada in the United States is 9%. About 70% of Mexican exports go to the United States, and 65% of Mexican imports come from there. The share of the United States in the total inflow of foreign direct investment in Mexico exceeds 60%. The US GDP is 14.5 times that of Canada and 19 times that of Mexico.

By population, by the volume of the gross gross product and a number of basic economic indicators the North American integration grouping is comparable to the European Union. NAFTA has a strong (especially thanks to the United States) economic potential, for example, the annual production of goods and services of the United States, Canada and Mexico is equal to $ 5 trillion, and their share in world trade is almost 20%. The structure of the North American integration complex has its own characteristics in comparison with the European model of integration.

The main difference is the asymmetry of the economic dependence of the USA, Canada and Mexico. The interaction of the economic structures of Mexico and Canada is far inferior in depth and scale to the Canadian-American and Mexican-American integration. Canada and Mexico are more likely competitors in the American market for goods and labor, rivals in attracting capital and technology of American corporations, than partners in the integration process.

Another feature of the North American economic grouping is that its members are in different starting conditions. If Canada over the past decade has managed to approach the United States in terms of the main economic macro indicators (GDP per capita, labor productivity), Mexico, which for many years was in the position of an economically backward state with large external debt, is still noticeably lagging behind these countries in terms of the main basic indicators.

The difference in GDP per capita between Mexico and the United States reaches 6.6 times, and with Canada - 4.1 times. Such a significant gap in the levels of economic development of the member countries makes it difficult to create a single economic complex.

It is also worth noting that within NAFTA, unlike the EU and APEC, there is only one center of economic power - the United States, whose economy is several times larger than Canada and Mexico combined. This monocentricity makes management easier (a leader country can easily impose its decisions on weaker partners), but at the same time creates an environment of potential conflicts (US partners may be dissatisfied with their subordinate position). In addition, integration turns out to be one-sided: Canada and Mexico are closely integrated with the United States, but not with each other.

However, the United States has received significant benefits from this agreement:

• in the vast majority of industries, barriers against foreign manufacturers from NAFTA partner countries were gradually minimized, which made it possible to buy many goods from them cheaper than in the United States itself;
• much broader opportunities for access to the markets of neighboring countries were opened up for American companies, which expanded the sales market.

US participation in the regional integration process has become a powerful factor in the long-term positive impact on domestic economic development.

The total trade turnover with Mexico in 1993-1997 alone increased by almost 2.5 times (from $ 80.5 billion to $ 197 billion), with Canada - almost doubled (from $ 197 to 364 billion). Both of these countries account for a third of US foreign trade. In the early 2000s, the average annual increase in trade with Mexico was over 20%, with Canada - 10%. Status duty-free goods has spread to two-thirds of all US exports to the region, and these opportunities continue to expand. The United States needs this kind of regional economic integration to improve its competitiveness against its main economic rivals - the EU and Japan.

Characteristics of NAFTA countries (as of 2014)

Source - CIA World Factbook

At the same time, various environmental and trade union groups in the United States, like many members of the American Congress, fear the displacement of the American business activity to Mexico with its low labor and environmental standards. In addition, Americans are afraid of the growing flow of immigrants from Mexico since the 1990s, which in the 2000s has already reached 300 thousand people a year. This "Latin Americanization" of the United States seems to many Americans to be a threat to their civilization based on the values ​​of Protestant European culture.

About Mexico's role in NAFTA

For Mexico, NAFTA membership means guaranteed access to the American market, absorbing approx. 80% of all Mexican exports, an increase in foreign investment. The desire for economic integration with the United States was the impetus for neoliberal reforms undertaken by the Mexican government in the early 1980s, abandoning an import-substituting development strategy.

Through regional unification with the United States, Mexico began to gradually integrate into the global economy. Of particular importance for her was also a positive solution to the issue of external debt after significant financial losses incurred in the 1980s: the Mexican government obtained large loans from the United States to implement free trade agreements. Many foreign companies began to transfer their activities to the territory of Mexico in order to penetrate the American and Canadian markets. Foreign direct investment in Mexico doubled in 1993-1999 alone.

Critics of Mexico's NAFTA membership point out that it benefits almost exclusively the elite, not the working class. The attractiveness of Mexico for foreign entrepreneurs is largely due to the low standard of living (low wages) and low environmental standards. Therefore, the United States has shown little interest in improving the living standards of Mexicans.

Participation in NAFTA has turned Mexico on to a program of trade liberalization and economic restructuring that makes it difficult to move away from it in the future, and almost impossible to return to economic independence.

About Canada's role in NAFTA

Canada is objectively a stronger NAFTA member than Mexico, but weaker than the United States. Therefore, Canada is inclined to block with Mexico in defending its interests, to put pressure on Washington. In the early 1990s, Canada relied on the support of Mexico to counter the protectionist actions of the United States. In turn, Mexico received Canadian support in 1995 when it approached the IMF and the IBRD when it became necessary to urgently intervene to save the Mexican peso.

Canada is actively in favor of expanding the free trade zone, considering Chile, as well as Colombia and Argentina, to be the primary candidates for joining the bloc. Demonstrating their independence and decisiveness, the Canadians declared that they would not wait for the Americans, and in 1996 entered into a bilateral free trade agreement with Chile, modeled on NAFTA, as well as two additional ones - on labor regulation and on environmental protection - modeled on the corresponding tripartite agreements. 1993 between Canada, USA and Mexico. Canada has concluded various bilateral agreements with many Latin American countries on certain issues of economic cooperation, and is persistently promoting the idea of ​​integrating NAFTA with MERCOSUR. Canada has been actively involved in the implementation of the FTAA plan. In 1998, she took over as the chair of the negotiations to conclude this agreement, which was declared a priority for Canadian policy in the region.

Thus, Canada within just one decade has turned from a rather passive observer into a full and active participant in multilateral processes and activities of the countries of the region. At the same time, Canadians act in their traditional role of mediator between countries with different levels of economic development and different ideological orientations.

Participation in KUFTA and NAFTA gave a strong impetus to the Canadian economy: in 1989-2000 alone, the volume of Canadian exports more than doubled, the share of machinery and equipment in it increased from 28% in 1980 to 45% in 1999. This refutes the fears of those opponents of the free trade agreement on the North American continent, who believed that it would lead to the "de-industrialization" of the Canadian economy.

In 2000, exports to the United States accounted for about 33% of Canada's total GDP, compared with 15% in 1989. The link to the American market was especially strong in the two largest provinces in Canada in terms of population and economic potential - in Ontario (the share of exports to the United States is 40% gross product) and Quebec (24%).

Key provisions of the NAFTA agreement (Table I.2 and Figure 11.2):

• 1. Phased elimination of all customs duties on goods traded between the United States, Canada and Mexico by 2010.
• 3. Relaxation of the regime for North American investment in Mexico.
• 4. Liberalization of the activities of American and Canadian banks in the financial market in Mexico.
• 5. Protecting the North American market from the expansion of Asian and European companies trying to avoid American duties by re-exporting their goods to the United States through Mexico.
• 6. Creation of the American-Canadian Arbitration Commission.

The agreement on the creation of NAFTA assumes that the participating countries maintain national customs tariffs in trade with third countries. But in mutual trade, after a transitional period of 10 (in some cases - 15) years, free circulation of goods should be carried out in this economic zone, which qualify as produced in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Re-

Key provisions of the NAFTA agreement

Table 11.2

The elimination of the agreement will lead to the elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. It is envisaged to improve trade in services, establish fair rules for mutual investment and public procurement, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, and create a dispute settlement mechanism.

Simultaneously, NAFTA establishes protectionist rules against non-continental manufacturers in the textile and automotive industries.

Removing tariffs and other protectionist barriers, NAFTA has a number of limitations (exceptions):

Rice. 11.2.

• 1. Establishes restrictive rules for trade in a number of goods and investments in certain sectors of the economy, which are especially “sensitive” to foreign competition, and different schedules for reducing duties. This applies to agriculture, energy, automotive products, textiles. In the Agreement, all goods are divided into three large groups - industrial (excluding textiles), agricultural and textile products, including clothing. Schedules for reducing duties have been developed for each group, and immediate removal of duties has been envisaged and implemented for a number of industrial products.
• 2. Contains clauses allowing the temporary restoration of protection for industries damaged by the import of relevant products.
• 3. Contains exceptions to the free trade regime. Thus, it retains: Mexico's right to ban foreign activities in the oil sector; Canada's right to protect certain culturally important sectors (broadcasting, motion pictures, records, books, etc.); US right to support domestic prices and maintain a procurement system for agricultural commodities.
• 4. Differentiated conditions for trade liberalization are also provided for individual countries participating in the integration bloc. For example, Mexican tariffs on imports of American manufactured goods were eliminated within 10 years. About half of the Mexican duties were eliminated when the Agreement entered into force. Subsequently (within five years), up to 70% of all goods from the United States were imported into Mexico duty-free. For its part, Mexico gained easier access to much of the North American market; the removal of duties over five years extended to almost 90% of industrial products.

At the same time, tariffs on a small number of products “sensitive” to American industry were not eliminated until almost the end of the 15-year period. Trade tariffs between Mexico and Canada were also phased out over the course of 10 years. In mutual trade between the United States and Canada, there was an agreement not to change the tariff reduction schedules previously developed within the framework of a bilateral agreement between them in 1989.

The phased reduction of customs tariffs within the framework of NAFTA (Table 11.3) was based on the base rates in effect on June 1, 1991. In relation to the rules of origin of goods, NAFTA established the following requirements: the product must be wholly produced in the North American Free Trade Area or substantially transformed (into new product), respectively, fall under another tariff line of the harmonized system.

For some goods (cars, chemical products, footwear), it is required that at least 50-60% of the components were produced in the countries participating in the Agreement.

Stages of creating a NAFTA free trade zone

Table 11.3

Source: Kasymova N.L. NAFTA: Prerequisites for Creation and Development Trends // USA: Economics, Politics, Ideology. - 2001. - No. 9. - P. 105.

NAFTA also removed other barriers to trade: import licensing requirements and collection of customs clearance goods.

In NAFTA, in fact, there is a national treatment in trade. It extends not only to goods, but also to services, including the right to invest in services and sell services across borders.

At the same time, the integration processes in North America have distinct features. In fact, the creation in 1994 of NAFTA reflects a new approach to the theory and practice of integration. The specifics of economic integration within the framework of NAFTA:

• 1. Basis: (“bottom up”) desire to cooperate with companies (micro level).
• 2. The structure of the integration model: the asymmetry of the economic dependence of the USA, Canada and Mexico. About 75-80% of Canadian exports are realized in the USA (20% of Canada's GDP). The share of the United States in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Canada exceeds 75%, and Canada in the United States - 9%.

About 70% of Mexican exports go to the United States, and 65% of Mexican imports come from there. The US share of total FDI inflows to Mexico exceeds 60%. The US GDP is 14.5 times that of Canada and 19 times that of Mexico. The interaction of the economic structures of Mexico and Canada is far inferior in depth and scale to the Canadian-American and Mexican-American integration. Canada and Mexico are more likely competitors in the American market for goods and labor, rivals in attracting capital and technology of American corporations, than partners in the integration process.

• 3. NAFTA is an association of a structural type, which is characterized by the leading role of large corporations and individual spheres of the economy, for example, the automotive industry, the textile industry of the united countries.
• 4. Mechanism of integration: there are no supranational institutions. The integration process within the framework of NAFTA differs significantly from the Western European one, where funds from the general budget are used to “pull up” economically less developed countries. NAFTA uses a compensation mechanism for asymmetry of customs tariffs in favor of Mexico. But there is no supranational budget or subsidies to Mexico. She must overcome her backwardness on her own. It is possible that in the course of development of NAFTA, institutional mechanisms other than those in the EU will appear within its framework.
• 5. Territorial coverage: NAFTA is a single continental system covering three national economies. Perhaps in the future it will be able to become the core of the Pan American Common Market, including Cuba.
• 6. A wide range of issues. The treaty is not only about trade liberalization, but also includes investment, services liberalization, intellectual property rights, environmental aspects, labor cooperation and an intergovernmental dispute resolution mechanism.
• 7. Significant differences in the levels of economic development of the participating countries. For the first time, a third world state voluntarily united with two highly developed powers. The difference in GDP per capita between Mexico and the United States reaches 6.6 times, and with Canada - 4.1 times. Such a significant gap in the levels of economic development of the member countries makes it difficult to create a single economic complex.

As you can see from the table. 11.4, in terms of population, total GDP and a number of basic economic indicators, the North American integration group is comparable to the EU. NAFTA has strong economic potential (especially thanks to the United States). Integration processes in NAFTA, in comparison with the EU, are distinguished by the dominant position of the United States in the North American economic region, the weak interconnection between the economies of Canada and Mexico, and the asymmetry of economic interaction between the United States, Canada and Mexico associated with these processes.

Table 11.4

Indicators of socio-economic development of NAFTA member countries in 2007

Source". UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics, 2008.