Meet the New Nafta
Meet the New Nafta
"Even under normal circumstances, ratification of trade agreements is difficult. But these are surely not normal circumstances," says AS/COA's Eric Farnsworth in Metro.
North America is holding together. After the dramatic announcement on September 30, 2018, that Canada and the United States have settled very difficult, long-standing issues, the path is clear to sign a trilateral trade agreement, along with Mexico, prior to the inauguration of the new President of Mexico on December 1.
The new provisions are intended to replace the pre-existing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which, after almost 25 years, is showing its age. The original effort to supersede NAFTA via updated provisions in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) was rendered moot when President Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from TPP immediately upon taking office. Instead, a new renegotiation effort was launched in August 2017, with a view towards forging an agreement by the end of the calendar year.
When that and subsequent deadlines proved impossible to meet, the United States and Mexico decided to negotiate on a bilateral basis, always keeping the door open to Canada. ...
