When the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994, its goal was to increase trade between Canada, Mexico and the United States by eliminating tariffs and encouraging investment. Seventeen years later, as part of International Education Week 2010 at Elon University, representatives from the three nations met to offer thoughts on the future of the agreement.
The Nov. 18 panel for the “Mexico Beyond the Headlines” event in the LaRose Digital Theatre was moderated by Steve Kelley, a foreign service official in the Department of State, and included contributions from Antonio Mena, head of the Department of Economic Affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C.; Kent Shigetomi, director of Mexico and NAFTA Affairs at the office of U.S. Trade Representatives; and Stephen Brereton, Consul General of the Consulate General for Canada in Atlanta.
Carlos Flores, Consul General to Mexico for the Carolinas, introduced the panel, associating a “new energy” being felt in the Carolinas with the presence of immigrants in the area.
“They have energized the rural sector of North Carolina and are increasingly participating in other sectors,” he said. “The challenge to young students is to think about how America will cope in the future with the issues and tools NAFTA has, to bring new prosperity to the region, but also how to cope with the new wave of Americans that are already here and have established residence in North Carolina.”
From 1994 to 2007, trade between the three countries tripled and despite a slight dip during the recent economic downturn, Kelley said the “overwhelmingly positive picture of trade hasn’t changed.”
Mena characterized both the United States and Mexico as continually thinking “the grass is greener on the other side” – that they will lose jobs to the other or their industries will suffer. Despite this criticism, Mena said there is general support for a continuance of the agreement.
“People are asking what’s next, ‘what more can we do to create jobs and foster productivity?’” he said.
According to Shigetomi, there are three themes that define this movement into the future, including other free trade agreements each nation has since entered into, changes in products and productions and, in light of completely eliminated tariffs, how to further stimulate trade.
“There are products and processes that didn’t exist 10 to 15 years ago that have we have begun to adjust for,” he said. “You can’t foresee devices and products that are game changers.” He suggested a reduction in transaction costs and increase in infrastructure to allow North America to capitalize on the benefits already established through NAFTA.
While the trade between the nations has increased, the infrastructure has not, Mena said.
“All countries need to work much more to facilitate trade across borders and address security concerns,” he said. “If we don’t do that, we can’t take advantage of our geographic positions.”
Mena proposed the implementation of policies on a unilateral basis. “We should strive for a regional vision, a North American vision, rather than US, Mexico or Canada vision,” he said. “If we focus only on a domestic vision, I don’t think we’ll make great strides.”
Brereton said what is most important in the trade agreement is economic integration, or the three countries working together to create products, rather than working independently.
“What is really important is not just selling something to a country, but making things together and working toward greater competitiveness in a globally competitive world, while also bringing economic growth, creating jobs and improving the lives of people in our three countries,” Brereton said.
– Written by Caitlin O’Donnell ‘13