The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was inspired by the success of the European Economic Community (1957-1993) in removing tariffs to stimulate trade among its members. Supporters argued that the creation of a free trade area in North America would bring prosperity through increased trade and production, resulting in the creation of millions of well-paying jobs in all participating countries. Many critics of NAFTA saw the agreement as a radical experiment developed by influential multinationals who wanted to increase their profits at the expense of ordinary citizens of the countries concerned. Opposition groups argued that the horizontal rules imposed by nafta could undermine local governments by preventing them from enacting laws or regulations to protect the public interest. Critics also argued that the treaty would lead to a significant deterioration in environmental and health standards, promote privatization and deregulation of essential public services, and supplant family farmers in the signatory countries. Supporting a 21st century economy through new measures to protect intellectual property in the United States and to secure trade opportunities for services in the United States. Following the signing of the auto pact, the Canadian government considered proposing free trade agreements in other sectors of the economy. However, the U.S. government was less sensitive to this idea and wanted to remove some of the guarantees from the pact.
Canada`s attention has focused on the issue of a broader free trade agreement between the two countries. [8] U.S. President Ronald Reagan welcomed the Canadian initiative and the U.S. Congress gave the President the power to sign a free trade agreement with Canada, which was to be submitted to Congress for consideration by October 5, 1987. In May 1986, Canadian and U.S. negotiators began developing a trade agreement. The Canadian team was led by former Deputy Finance Minister Simon Reisman and Peter O. Murphy, former U.S. Deputy Trade Representative in Geneva. Key elements of the agreement included the removal of tariffs, the removal of many non-tariff barriers, and it was one of the first trade agreements to deal with trade in services. It also included a dispute resolution mechanism for a fair and timely resolution of trade disputes.