The Free Trade Area of the Americas

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) became effective in Canada, Mexico, and the United States on January 1, 1994. This agreement removed the tariffs and other trade barriers on goods produced and sold in North America. NAFTA forms the world's second largest free trade area. The largest free trade area is the European Economic Area, which also became effective in 1994. Talks began in late 1994 to expand NAFTA to include all Latin American nations. This will be …

…of FTAA. The American opinion about NAFTA is still very mixed. Imports make a lot of everyday material items cheaper and that improves our standard of living. NAFTA also makes us work smarter and harder in order to compete with foreign companies that have wage advantages. Without proving that pollution and food safety rules can be enforced, it's hard to say if the FTAA can get the support needed for implementation in the near future.