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NAFTA
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
n. — abbreviation, Administration
an agreement between Canada, the US, and Mexico to remove trade barriers in effect from January 1, 1994.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The abbreviation NAFTA, which is today the most frequently used form, arose in or around 1988 (see the quotation of that year). As Chart 1 shows, the term is referenced much more in Canada than in the US.
COD-2 lists the term as an unlabelled abbreviation.
COD-2 lists the term as an unlabelled abbreviation.
Quotations
1988
This is easier to pronounce than "USCFTA" or even "UCFTA," while "NAFTA" (short for North America FTA) could be confused with the New Zealand-Australia FTA, even though it has recently adopted a fancier name.
1993
Yet the GATT's rules explicitly recognize that regional agreements like the FTA and NAFTA play a valuable role in promoting freer worldwide trade.
The FTA eliminates (not just reduces, as in GATT) tariffs on Canada-U.S. trade. It gives Canada preferred access to the American market, not simply the most-favored-nation access available through the GATT.
2001
We've seen Canadian offices of American companies here close down, throwing many employees out of work, because under NAFTA, it's no longer necessary for American companies to maintain a Canadian branch in order to do business here.
2013
More than four years after the launch of these important negotiations, we are almost there. Soon Canada and the EU will announce an agreement in principle. From then on, Canada will be at the centre of a large economic market, a member of the NAFTA zone and with a unique access to the EU.
2016
A Buy Canadian policy would be controversial politically, particularly since the Canadian government has long railed against Buy American provisions south of the border that block Canadian suppliers from bidding on sub-national procurement work.
Canada would likely be in breach of trade agreements like NAFTA if federally funded projects were ring-fenced. It would also upset the Chinese, with whom the Liberals are keen to foster tighter trade ties, if Asian steel is frozen out.
References
- COD-2
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