Three Amigos must revive the spirit of NAFTA

[unhappycamper]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/three-amigos-must-revive-the-spirit-of-nafta/article16930004/

Three Amigos must revive the spirit of NAFTA
Brian Mulroney
Contributed to The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Feb. 18 2014, 7:20 AM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Feb. 18 2014, 7:22 AM EST

Both the Mexicans and the Americans had been initially reluctant to include Canada in the NAFTA negotiations. It was only because of the strong, personal support from presidents George H.W. Bush and Carlos Salinas that we gained a seat at the table We were determined to safeguard the benefits from the Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement (FTA). The results indicate that this was the right decision at the right time for Canada and for our North American free-trade agreement partners as well.

In 20 years, NAFTA became the world’s largest trading bloc, with a combined GDP of roughly $19-trillion (U.S.). Accounting together for almost $7-trillion in exports and imports, the three have become what former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz characterized as a “global powerhouse.”

Canada’s trade with Mexico has increased sixfold since NAFTA. Investment has doubled since the 1980s. Some 2,600 Canadian companies have offices and operations in Mexico. Tourism has more than doubled in the past decade to more than 1.5-million visitors a year.

One disappointment has been that, instead of using NAFTA as the template for trade expansion by the bloc, each North American entity has taken individual strides on free-trade negotiations – separately with countries in the hemisphere like Colombia and Chile; separately again with the EU and now with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

[pipoman]

1. I get it

NAFTA good.