Freeing Trade in North America

About this book

"A concise analysis and overview of the trilateral trade agreements--NAFTA and its successor USCMA--that have created one of the largest trade blocs in the world. Conceived in an era of rapid post-Cold War economic liberalization, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1994, brought together Canada, Mexico and the United States with the aim of creating a regional trade bloc that eliminated the friction and costs of trade between the three nations. Without an overarching institutional framework, NAFTA never sought to attain the levels of integration achieved by the European Union--for many it was a missed opportunity--and never quite fulfilled its potential as a single market, and under Trump's administration it has looked increasingly precarious as a trilateral trade agreement. This book provides an overview of NAFTA and its successor the USCMA, explaining the theory behind the politics and economics of trade in North America. It provides an accessible and lively analysis of the agreements' key provisions, short-comings and the past revision efforts of the governments involved."--