Na Agreements
If the Trans-Pacific Partnership of Origin (TPP) were to enter into force, existing agreements, such as NAFTA, would be reduced to provisions that do not conflict with the TPP or require greater trade liberalization than the TPP. [155] However, only Canada and Mexico would have the prospect of becoming members of the TPP after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in January 2017. In May 2017, the remaining 11 members of the TPP, including Canada and Mexico, agreed to pursue a revised version of the trade agreement without U.S. participation. [156] The kick-off of a North American free trade area began with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who made the idea part of his 1980 presidential campaign. After the signing of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 1988, the governments of U.S. President George H.W. Bush, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney agreed to negotiate nafta.
Both submitted the agreement for ratification in their respective capitals in December 1992, but NAFTA faced considerable opposition in both the United States and Canada. The three countries ratified NAFTA in 1993 following the addition of two related agreements, the North American Worker Cooperation Agreement (NAALC) and the North American Environmental Cooperation Agreement (NAAEC). Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, who opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, called it “a continuation of other disastrous trade agreements such as NAFTA, CAFTA and normal, long-term trade relations with China.” He believes that free trade agreements have led to the loss of American jobs and lower U.S. wages. Sanders said America needs to rebuild its production base with U.S. factories for well-paying jobs for the U.S. workforce, instead of relocating to China and elsewhere. [126] [127] [128] The former Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was the subject of controversy and controversy in Canada and was presented as a theme in the 1988 Canadian election. In this election, more Canadians voted for the anti-free trade parties (Liberals and New Democrats), but the split of votes between the two parties meant that the pro-free progressive Conservatives (PCs) came out of the polls with the largest number of seats and thus took power.