In this International Relations & Global Politics program guest lecture, the first of AUR's Ambassador's Lecture Series for 2022, His Excellency, Mr. Carlos Eugenio Garcia de Alba Zepeda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Mexican States to Italy, will focus on the NAFTA negotiations, the final agreement, and the critiques of NAFTA given by former US President, Donald Trump, who defined NAFTA as “the worst trade deal, maybe ever”.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force on July 1, 2020, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The North American Free Trade Agreement, which was enacted in 1994, created a free trade zone for Mexico, Canada, and the United States. It was the most important feature in the U.S.-Mexico bilateral commercial relationship. As of January 1, 2008, all tariffs and quotas were eliminated on U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Mexico is the United States’ third-largest trading partner and second-largest export market for U.S. products. In 2018, two-way trade in goods and services totaled USD 678 billion, and this trade, directly and indirectly, supports millions of U.S. and Mexican jobs.
After U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he sought to replace NAFTA with a new agreement, beginning negotiations with Canada and Mexico. In September 2018, the United States, Mexico, and Canada reached an agreement to replace NAFTA with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), and all three countries had ratified it by March 2020. NAFTA remained in force until USMCA was implemented. In April 2020, Canada and Mexico notified the U.S. that they were ready to implement the agreement. The USMCA took effect on July 1, 2020, replacing NAFTA. The new law involved only small changes.
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