Since the earliest of time, there has been some form of trade or another between two different people or businesses. In the early days, people used to barter goods or services for their own benefit. This was to be the earliest form of trade. As time went on, trade became a more and more popular means of getting what you wanted at a certain cost. Soon, people began exchanging goods that they desired for a common currency known as money. Trade is still quite common today. In fact, the economy has grown to the extent that trade is now seen and used worldwide. The world has become an international market of trade, which has been further developed due to the number of free trade agreements that have been made all over the world since the 1940's. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is one of the most famous agreements, which was implemented in January of 1994, between Canada, The United States and Mexico with the intent of creating the world's largest free trade area. NAFTA was created in attempt to eliminate trade barriers between these three countries and to help promote free trade.
In 1989, there was talk of having a free trade agreement between three countries in North America, Canada, Mexico and the United States. In 1989, a FTA was signed between Canada and the US, but on January 1st, 1994, Canada, The United States and Mexico all signed for a free trade agreement called NAFTA, which was to be put into practice between these three countries. In 1994, tariffs and quotas existed between Canada, the US and Mexico on items such as dairy products, eggs, poultry, sugar, cotton and peanuts, as well as certain other agricultural products. These tariffs were applied in an effort to protect the farmers and agricultural workers in each of the countries. By 1998 however, all tariffs, which directly related to agricultural trade between Canada and the US (with very few exceptions) were removed.