The North American Free Trade Agreement is a binding pact that was appended by three member countries, namely Canada, Mexico, and United States. The agreement has been operational for nearly one and a half-decade. The impact of the treaty created a trading zone in North America. This agreement has two main provisions or supplements that it caters for. The first supplement is that of environmental matters, while the second one entails cooperation on labor.
In spite of the terms in the earlier trade agreement signed, there have been some calls to ratify the content of the agreement through fresh negotiations. The first meeting was held in 1992. It was later found that the trade agreement between US and Canada had serious flaws and needed ratification. Although food prices in Mexico dropped substantially due to cheap imports from the US, this free trade plan was found to affect Mexican farmers due to a lack of market for locally produced agricultural goods.
This one is which needs to be renegotiated so as to reduce the volume of agricultural imports, which significantly inhibit local agricultural; growth in Mexico. Further, there has been a gross loss of jobs in the US especially involving those workers employed in assembly and manufacturing plants. The loss of jobs coupled with high unemployment rates in the US has been an issue of concern that needs to be ratified under the current NAFTA agreement. In fact, there is an urgent need to control the free and random import of goods from either country so as to maintain a favorable balance of trade and payments. Some restrictions through the duty imposition are necessary to address the concerns.
In addition, the growing trade volume has negatively impacted Mexico in the sense that the economic disparity level with the US has continued to rise. Nonetheless, NAFTA provisions that touch on environmental matters should not be renegotiated. Environmental concerns with regard to pollution control are very critical. The setting up of a special Commission for Environment Cooperation has assisted in addressing matters related to the environment as far as NAFTA operations are concerned. Under this environmental commission, environmental impact assessment is carried out regularly to monitor possible pollution. The free trade agreement on agriculture needs to be renegotiated due to the negative impacts mentioned earlier. The duty-free importation of agricultural goods from the US to Mexico has reduced market opportunities for locally produced agricultural goods in Mexico.