Post-NAFTA North America

by Isidro Morales

"Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was conceived, it has been regarded as a mechanism of economic integration, drawing Canada, Mexico and the US into one single economic space. Professor Isidro Morales challenges this long-held assumption, illustrating that NAFTA, for the US, is not an integration mechanism, but rather a means of reinforcing 'export-enhancing' policies generated by Washington. NAFTA is the middle ground, the interface, between US multilateral positions pursued within the World Trade Organisation and unilateral trade measures debated and adopted by US congress. Its voice has become that of the US, embodying the same values, the same principles, and the same disciplinary policy, as that advocated by the American elites. It has become more than a simple trade regime, evolving into a regulatory framework combating the pressure of globalization in the post-Cold War era. In the aftermath of September 11th 2001, NAFTA has formed a strategic bloc, grounded