The North American Free Trade Agreement - 3039 Words

INTRODUCTION The North American Free Trade Agreement (â€Å"NAFTA†) went into effect on New Year’s Day 1994. The signatory members are the United States, Mexico, and Canada. While the purpose of NAFTA is to promote investment in those regions, the treaty does not establish whether water is a saleable good. The text neither mentions the word â€Å"water,† nor does it expressly prohibit transactions involving water. This terse dichotomy leads to the following issue. The issue is whether freshwater reserves can be extracted for sale or preserved as natural resources. Is water a good and a commodity? If considered a commodity, then fresh water is a property right. That means that governments and private investors can sell bulk water. This argument is strengthened by NAFTA’s further omission of a clause stating that a right to water is a human right. A nexus between water access and human rights would have entitled environmental protection through the public trust doctrine. The loopholes listed above act in favor of treating water as an item of commerce. The main supporting factor is that the potential earning power of water is plausible . At least 13% of the world’s renewable freshwater is in North America. Clearly a global market exists and can be targeted; it consists of water scarce consumers with consumption and agricultural demands . Therefore, the export of surface and ground water from the U.S. and Canada can offer viable business opportunities to public and privateShow MoreRelatedNorth American Free Trade Agreement Essay1398 Words   |  6 Pages North American Free Trade Agreement During the most recent race for the White House we heard very little of substance from both parties, but one thing both parties seem to agree on is that free trade has been bad for the U.S. worker. One candidate proclaimed that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has cost the United States hundreds of thousands of jobs and another distanced herself from free trade agreements all together. It has been over twenty years since the implementation ofRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement1711 Words   |  7 PagesThis paper will discuss four components of the North American Free Trade Agreement: Background, events, pros and cons. Upon the research, you will discover four online articles to provide more detail and examples. This research will indicate how it was developed and the reasoning on why it would benefit the nation. Also, it will provide events that occur after the agreement was signed by congress and the recession the countries experience during the e arly 2000s. There will be a chart locatedRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement Essay1420 Words   |  6 Pagessubstance from both parties, but one thing both parties seem to agree on is that free trade has been bad for the U.S. worker. One candidate proclaimed that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has cost the United States hundreds of thousands of jobs and another distanced herself from free trade agreements all together. It has been over twenty years since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and many have criticized it as a bad deal for the U.S. It can be shown thatRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement1036 Words   |  5 PagesThe North American Free Trade Agreement also referred to as NAFTA produced results on January 1, 1994. A trade agreement was made between each of the three of nations of North America. The United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, the Mexican Presiden t, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and previous U.S. President George H. Shrub initiated the agreement. Connections between the nations were at that point on great terms, particularly between The United States and CanadaRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement Essay1863 Words   |  8 PagesThe North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, is an accordance between the United States, Mexico, and Canada that was put into effect in January 1994. This agreement was unprecedented because it integrated three countries that were at extremely different levels of economic development. It changed the economic relationship between North American countries and encouraged trade and investment among the three countries to grow considerably. The purpose of the creation of the North American FreeRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement Essay1356 Words   |  6 PagesThe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement negotiated by three countries; Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The main purpose of NAFTA is essentially to reduce trade barriers in order to promote international commerce, and open up different industries to trade, in particular textiles, agriculture, and automobile sectors. The introduction of NAFTA completely transformed North American economic relations and led to unparalleled cooperation between the U.S. Canada and MexicoRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement1486 Words   |  6 PagesThe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an agreement signed by three countries in creating rules in trade in North America. NAFTA, when being presented, was described as genuine for helping Mexico and Canada. But was NAFTA really helpings those counties or really just helping N orth America? Initially North America was being genuine about NAFTA when talking to Mexico and Canada but in reality the NAFTA caused some uneven development as the years went by. I have two stories thatRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement1804 Words   |  8 Pagesunderstanding the elements of trade blocs that enable open markets between member nations while also decreasing the cost of conducting business within a country is essential in making strategic logistical decisions. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has provided one such trade bloc that encompasses the countries of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Since the inception of NAFTA in 1994, significant financial results have been achieved regarding increases in trade revenue and increases inRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement1018 Words   |  5 PagesThe North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA, is a trilateral trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Signed January 1, 1994, NAFTA’s main purpose was to reduce trading costs, increase business investments, and help the United States be more competitive in the g lobal marketplace. The agreement would eliminate all tariffs on half of all U.S. goods shipping to Mexico and introduce new regulations to encourage cross-border investments. According to President Bush, tradeRead MoreThe North American Free Trade Agreement920 Words   |  4 PagesThe North American Free Trade Agreement (NATFA) shoved the American worker down a flight of stairs in the name of Globalization NAFTA or a bill similar had been floating around Washington since 1979 a year before Reagan took office. NAFTA truly went no where for over a decade. The â€Å"North American Accord† was first proposed by the Reagan and the GOP were always in favor of passage but, it was the Progressive wing, along with many other pro-union members in the Democratic party who held NAFTA at