North American Free Trade Agreement

The North American Free Trade Agreement was a trade pact between Canada, Mexico and the United States that created one of the largest free-trade zones in the world. Negotiated under the presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, it phased out most tariffs on goods traded between the three countries and set rules on investment and intellectual property. Supporters argued that it would boost trade and growth, while critics in the United States and Canada feared the loss of manufacturing jobs, and Mexican farmers faced competition from cheaper imports. The agreement came into force on the same day as the Zapatista uprising in southern Mexico. It was replaced in 2020 by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

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