The Impact of NAFTA Provisions on Free Trade in North America

ABSTRACT In this paper the impact of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on free trade across its member nations Canada, Mexico and USA are examined in the light of relevant economic and philosophical theories as well as the provisions of the agreement and through analyzing recent trade data and surveying post-NAFTA studies. Moreover, the study makes an attempt in evaluating the extent to which NAFTA had reached its predefined goals, which state ended up as the most beneficial party after the agreement ended as well as the main economic arguments posed for and against the agreement with a particular focus on the fact that it proposed to join countries in different stages and levels of economic development - an aspect that distinguished NAFTA from other similar agreements.