NAFTA - Canada's & Mexico's Viewpoints.
free trade agreement came into effect, the Mexican's were very impressed by the provision and opportunities that opened for both sides. Mexico then approached the U.S., seeking to form a similar agreement with them. This brought forth a new issue in Canada, should they let Mexico and the U.S. form an agreement without them? Or should they participate, thus transforming their deal with the U.S. into a trilateral agreement including Mexico.
On June 12, 1991, the trade ministers of Canada, the United States and Mexico met in Toronto to open negotiations for a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This was an historic occasion. For the first time ever, a developing country agreed to sit down with two industrial countries to craft an agreement that would open its economy to full competition with the other two countries. If successful, the agreement promised to make the whole North American continent into one economic zone and set an important precedent for trade and economic cooperation between the wealthy countries of the North and less developed countries of the South. The challenge before them was both exciting and daunting.
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A little more than a year later, the three trade ministers met again in Washington, to put the finishing touches on a new North American Free Trade Agreement. In just over a year the negotiators from the three countries had successfully met the challenge and put together a new trading frame work for North America. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was set to be implied.
The North American Free Trade Agreement often raises questions regarding the new economic trading blocs around the world. The twelve-nation European Community (EC), a Central American free trade zone, and a four-nation South American group, as well as preliminary discussions regarding an Asian trading bloc, all point to the fact that new economic realities already exist.