NAFTA demonstrates the benefits
trade can bring to all countries.
When NAFTA was implemented 10 years ago, it created the world’s largest
free trade area, which now links 426 million people in an area which produces
more than $12 trillion worth of goods and services. During the past decade, NAFTA partners
have been conducting business within a framework that is extremely open,
governed by clear rules and accessible enforcement mechanisms, with the goal of
greater economic integration and cooperation. Some examples of NAFTA’s
success:
INCREASED EXPORTS AND INVESTMENT
FLOWS
●
All member economies have grown significantly from 1993-2003:
·
United
States: 38% economic growth
·
Canada:
30.9% growth
·
Mexico:
30% growth
●
U.S. exports to
Canada and
Mexico grew from US$134.3 billion (US$46.5
billion to Mexico and US$87.8 billion to
Canada) to US$250.6 billion (US$105.4 and
US$145.3 billion respectively).
●
Mexican exports to the United
States reached over US$138 billion, while
Mexican exports to Canada grew from US$2.7 billion to US$8.7
billion, an increase of almost 227%.
●
Canada’s exports to its NAFTA partners
increased by 104% in value.
INCREASED TOTAL TRADE AND BROADER
ECONOMIC TRENDS
Representing a free trade area with about
one-third of the world’s total GDP, the NAFTA economies are significantly larger
than that of the European Union. Even with the addition of ten new
members, the EU’s GDP will still be well behind that of the NAFTA
region.
●
The dismantling of trade barriers and opening of markets have led to
economic growth and rising prosperity in the United States, Mexico and
Canada.
●
The total volume of trade among the three NAFTA partners expanded from
$289.3 billion in 1993 to $623.1 billion in 2003.
●
Each day NAFTA countries conduct nearly $1.7 billion in trilateral
trade.
●
In the ten years since NAFTA, productivity rose 28% in the
United
States from 1993 to 2003, in
Mexico up 55% and in
Canada up 23%.
BENEFITS FOR ALL NAFTA
PARTNERS
UNITED
STATES
●
In the first decade of NAFTA, U.S. manufacturing output soared,
U.S. employment grew, and
U.S. manufacturing wages increased
dramatically.
●
Income gains and tax cuts from NAFTA were worth up to $930 each year for
the average US household of
four.
MEXICO
●
Wages in export-related industries are 37% higher than the rest of its
economy. Mexican wages and
employment tend to be higher in states with higher foreign investment and trade,
and migration from those states is lower.
Wages are also higher in sectors with more exposure to imports or
exports.
●
Two-way agricultural trade between the
United
States and
Mexico increased more than 125% since
NAFTA went into effect, reaching $14.2 billion in 2003 compared to $6.2 billion
in 1993.
CANADA
●
Merchandise exports to the United
States expanded by 250% since 1989 and
account for 87.2% of Canada’s total merchandise
exports.
●
Foreign Direct Investment in the finance and insurance industry accounted
for 36% of Canadian FDI in Mexico in 2001, while not even registering
in 1989.
PROGRESS FOR ENVIRONMENT AND
LABOR
Through
the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, NAFTA partners
promote enforcement of environmental laws.
●
Through
the Commission for
Environmental Cooperation (CEC), which was created from the NAFTA, all three countries have benefited
from coordination which is increasing the effectiveness of North American
conservation efforts by:
-
Developing common priorities for the
protection of certain species
-
Developing North American
Conservation Action Plans for three shared marine species
-
Providing
tools such as a map of terrestrial ecoregions which management agencies are
using in their programs
-
Setting
out common mechanisms for planning and monitoring bird conservation
programs
●
The NAFTA also establishes institutions
and creates a formal process through which the public may raise concerns about
labor law enforcement directly with governments. NAFTA
partners have undertaken a wide-range of cooperative programs and technical
exchanges on industrial relations, occupational safety and health, child labor,
gender equality, and protection of migrant workers.
Statistics
based on import data from partner countries. For more
information, please visit our websites:
States: http://www.ustr.gov Mexico: http://www.economia.gob.mxCanada: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
