The Debate over NAFTA Proponents of the trade
agreement included U.S. and Canadian politicians
who favored free trade, transnational corporations,
a number of economists, and other proponents of a
liberal system in which trade barriers are limited
among countries. The arguments used to support
NAFTA included increased trade among the three
countries and increased job growth and economic
output, as well as a reduction of poverty, especially in
Mexico.
Opponents of the trade agreement included la-
bor unions in the United States and Canada, which
feared that manufacturing jobs would move away
from their countries into Mexico because of lower
wage costs; Mexican farmers, who feared that agri-
culture subsidies provided to American farmers
would put them at a further disadvantage and run
them out of business; advocacy groups focusing on
the environment and social justice; and human
rights groups, which feared that the impact of the
treaty would lead to noneconomic negative conse-
quences, especially in Mexico.
Impact NAFTA was one of the most significant
agreements signed in the 1990’s by the United States
and Canada, and the consequences of this trade
agreement could be seen throughout the decade.
While the main goal of NAFTA was to change the
economic picture of North America, the agreement
affected much more than just the economies of
these countries. While numbers show that trade
among them increased, many economists claim that
such a change did not help the economy as a whole:
Instead of creating new markets, NAFTA simply di-
verted trade from countries that are not members
of the agreement. Also, the increased number of
maquiladoras(Mexican factories that take in im-
ported raw materials and produce goods for export)
raised many questions about the hiring practices
and work conditions of these industries.
NAFTA was the topic of many heated political de-
bates of the 1990’s in all three of the signatory coun-
tries, and the economic, political, social, and cul-
tural changes prompted by the trade agreement
helped change the relationship between Mexico
and North America in many ways during this period.
Further Reading
Chambers, Edward J., and Peter H. Smith, eds.
NAFTA in the Millennium.La Jolla: Center for U.S.-
Mexican Studies, University of California, San
Diego, 2002. Examines the challenges that
NAFTA experienced in the 1990’s and the future
of the treaty. A great collection of essays on many
aspects of the agreement.
Hufbauer, Gary Clyde, and Jeffrey J. Schott.NAFTA
Revisited: Achievements and Challenges. Washing-
ton, D.C.: Institute for International Economics,- One of the most comprehensive analyses of
NAFTA to date, this book examines the first seven
years of the trade agreement and outlines the new
challenges that NAFTA may encounter in the fu-
ture.
McKinney, Joseph A., and M. Rebecca Sharpless,
eds.Implications of a North American Free Trade Re-
gion: Multidisciplinar y Perspectives.Waco, Tex.: Pro-
gram for Regional Studies, Baylor University, - Written before the implementation of
NAFTA, this book discusses the debate regarding
the agreement and what effects it would have on
the economy, politics, law, culture, and society.
Villers, David R. Dávila, ed.NAFTA, the First Year: A
View from Mexico.Lanham, Md.: University Press
of America, 1996. A collection of papers pre-
sented at the First Forum of the Americas, whose
main objective is to evaluate NAFTA on a yearly
basis. Provides an in-depth analysis of the impact
that NAFTA had in Mexico in the first year of its
inception and discusses the proposition of creat-
ing other trade agreements, focusing especially
on those targeting Latin America.
Pedro dos Santos
See also Agriculture in Canada; Agriculture in the
United States; Bush, George H. W.; Canada and the
United States; Clinton, Bill; Foreign policy of Can-
ada; Foreign policy of the United States; Mexico and
the United States; Mulroney, Brian. North Hollywood shoot-out
The Event A shoot-out between police officers
and two heavily armed men wearing body
armor
Date February 28, 1997
Place A district of Los AngelesAlthough this confrontation was shocking to many, some in
law enforcement had feared its occurrence, believing that
law enforcement had been greatly limited in its ability toThe Nineties in America North Hollywood shoot-out 619