NAFTA - Free Trade
The North American Free Trade Agreement's purpose is to increase contact to foreign markets for U.S. exports through the elimination of taxed and non-taxed barriers of trade. They do three main things to ensure that this happens:
1)Contribute a great deal to the coordination and development of U.S. trade policy in the Western Hemisphere for the Department of Commerce.
2)Inform the U.S. business community, policy-makers, and Congress concerning market contact to Canada and Mexico under NAFTA, by providing accurate and sensible information.
3)Assist U.S. companies experiencing problems and gaining access to Canadian and Mexican markets.
They also study and take part in the development of regional combination agreements, including the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the U.S-Chile Free Trade Agreement.
The mission statement for the NAFTA agreement says: "Our overriding objectives are to obtain market access for American's firms and workers; and to achieve full compliance by foreign nations with trade agreements they sign with our country."
This pact became effective on January 1, 1994. The North American Free Trade Agreement was built upon a 1989 trade agreement between the United States and Canada that eliminated taxes on most goods that traveled between the two countries. NAFTA forms the world's second largest free-trade zone, bringing together millions of consumers in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in an open market. It is second only to the European Economic Area.