overview
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a comprehensive trade-liberalization agreement among Canada, Mexico, and the United States. NAFTA progressively eliminates most tariff and nontariff barriers to trade between these countries over a transition period that began on January 1, 1994 and concludes on January 1, 2008. The agreement also facilitates cross-border investment, requires that sanitary and phytosanitary standards for trade be scientifically based, and expands cooperation regarding the environment and labor.

According to ERS research, NAFTA has expanded U.S. agricultural trade with Canada and Mexico. It is dramatically affecting some agricultural commodities—boosting trade substantially above levels that would have occurred without the agreement—while generating a more subtle, positive effect for most others. Removing barriers to North American agricultural trade enhances U.S. competitiveness in many agricultural sectors. More open trade also mitigates local production shortfalls caused by adverse weather, thereby securing more stable supplies and reducing commodity price volatility. Consumers in all three NAFTA countries also benefit from greater access to agricultural products.

ERS is engaged in a wide range of research activities concerning NAFTA. ERS is the principal USDA agency involved in the preparation of the Department's Congressionally mandated NAFTA Report. ERS also conducts smaller research projects about NAFTA-related topics, including U.S.-Mexico transportation, the relative cost of agricultural inputs in Canada and the United States, and the potential impact of proposed trade agreements, such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA).

contents

• Impact on U.S. agriculture
• Congressionally mandated NAFTA Report
• Current research
• Recommended documents

features
North American Agricultural Market Integration and Its Impact on the Food and Fiber System reviews the increasing integration of agricultural markets in Canada, Mexico, and the United States that has resulted in more efficient use of continental resources. NAFTA, technological change, and fundamental forces of supply and demand have helped bring about a more unified North American agricultural market.

Multlateralism and Regionalism: Dual Strategies for Trade Reform reviews U.S. pursuit of trade liberalization through regional agreements such as NAFTA and the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and through multilateral negotiations via the World Trade Organization. Why does the United States do both simultaneously?

recommended readings
Global Trade Patterns in Fruits and Vegetables examines the domestic markets and trade experiences of major fruit and vegetable traders—including the NAFTA area—to better understand the economic and institutional factors affecting trade. With major advances in produce handling and transport, combined with trade agreements and changing consumers preferences as incomes rise, a more global market is providing consumers with greater year-round variety.

U.S.-Mexico Broiler Trade: A Bird's Eye View examines sanitary requirements and regulations governing the U.S.-Mexico broiler trade. A sensitivity analysis, using a cost-minimization mathematical programming model, detects minimal economic impact on the U.S. broiler market if Mexico is allowed to ship fresh, chilled, and frozen poultry to the United States.

Mexico's Changing Marketing System for Fresh Produce: Emerging Markets, Practices, Trends, and Issues takes a detailed look at recent changes in Mexico's fresh produce distribution system. The report identifies challenges that hinder the efficient distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as the implications for U.S. growers and shippers of fresh produce.

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Recommended data products
Production, Supply, and Distribution (PS&D) contains official USDA data on production, supply, and distribution of agricultural commodities for the United States and major importing and exporting countries. The database provides projections for the coming year and historical data for more than 200 countries and major crop, livestock, fishery, and forest products.

Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS) provides U.S. agricultural exports and imports, volume and value, by country, by commodity, and by calendar year, fiscal year, and month, for varying periods, such as 1935 to the present or 1989 to the present. Updated monthly or annually.

WTO Agricultural Trade Policy Commitments Database contains data on implementation of trade policy commitments by WTO member countries. Data on domestic support, export subsidies, and tariffs are organized for comparison across countries. This queriable database offers various options for viewing and downloading data.

Agricultural Market Access Database (AMAD) is a publicly available information tool for the analysis of WTO market access issues in agriculture. This online database is a collection of data and information for WTO member countries. It includes tariff schedules, tariff bindings, applied tariff rates, country notifications to the WTO, import quantities, and other data useful in tariff analysis.

related briefing rooms
World Trade Organization
Agricultural baseline projections
U.S. agricultural trade
Mexico
Canada

related links
Additional data and information on NAFTA are available from USDA, other U.S. government sources, international organizations, the Canadian government, the Mexican government, universities, and other sources.

See all related links...

for more information, contact: John Wainio or Steven Zahniser
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: June 15, 2004