Is ‘NAFTA Plus’ an Option in the North American Agrifood Sector?

Abstract

With the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) nearly complete, there are concerns that the easy gains in efficiency have been achieved and that additional steps towards the economic integration of the member countries are required. This poses a distinct challenge to the NAFTA governments, since the agreement did not create trinational institutions with the supranational authority to facilitate the deepening of the new trading environment. In any initiative to further the economic integration of the NAFTA countries, agriculture will be a difficult sector in which to make progress. However, at an aggregate level, the support provided directly to agricultural producers by the NAFTA governments is similar, as are tariffs at an aggregate level. All three countries have devised income support programmes that contain a countercyclical element. In each of these areas, as well as in the operation of ‘green box’ programmes that are consistent with the member countries’ obligations to the World Trade Organization, cooperation and consultation among the NAFTA members would seem crucial if they are to achieve greater integration in the agrifood sector. This article examines the opportunities and challenges facing the NAFTA members as they seek further integration in the agrifood sector.

Comparative characteristics of world agricultural markets using contracting and state farm support development (Russian Agribusiness Case Study)

“…As it is noted by us, the level of state regulation in the European countries is higher, than in the USA. Therefore the American agrarian policy, is represented to the most capable to adaptation for the countries with limited budgetary resources which also Russia is among as well as [19,20].…”

Dispensing with NAFTA Rules of Origin? Some Policy Options

“…This is not only about selecting a CET, however. One of the thornier issues, as mentioned by Meilke et al (2008), would be the many different FTAs that North American countries have negotiated separately (Figure 1). A full North American CU would require the eventual reconciliation of the ROO used in each FTA in Figure 1 (excluding NAFTA, of course, as NAFTA preferential ROO would, in theory, no longer exist).…”

Agriculture in the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement: Agreeing to keep things pretty much the same

“…Given the rejection of the ruling trade paradigm by the United States, Canada and Mexico were faced with negotiating a new trading arrangement where the U.S. objectives were generally to remove the constraints they perceived in the NAFTA. There 1 Prior to the radical shift in trade policy initiated by the Trump administration, efforts had been underway to deepen the relationship between the three countries (Huff et al, 2007;Meilke, Rude, & Zahniser, 2008). President Trump likely benefitted from the fall out and general economic malaise that followed the financial crisis of the late 2000s.…”

“…Prior to the radical shift in trade policy initiated by the Trump administration, efforts had been underway to deepen the relationship between the three countries (Huff et al., ; Meilke, Rude, & Zahniser, ). President Trump likely benefitted from the fall out and general economic malaise that followed the financial crisis of the late 2000s.…”