In the United States, the proposed North American free trade Agreement was generally supported by

The United States, Mexico and Canada have reached an agreement to benefit American farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses. While agriculture has generally performed well under NAFTA, important improvements in the agreement will enable food and agriculture to trade more fairly, and to expand exports of American agricultural products.

Key Achievement: Expanded Market Access for American Food and Agricultural Products.

America’s dairy farmers will have new export opportunities to sell dairy products into Canada. Canada will provide new access for United States products including fluid milk, cream, butter, skim milk powder, cheese, and other dairy products. It will also eliminate its tariffs on whey and margarine. For poultry, Canada will provide new access for United States chicken and eggs and increase its access for turkey. Under a modernized agreement, all other tariffs on agricultural products traded between the United States and Mexico will remain at zero.

Key Achievement: Canada’s Milk Classes 6 and 7 to Be Eliminated

The top priority for America’s dairy industry in this negotiation has been for Canada to eliminate its program that allows low priced dairy ingredients to undersell United States dairy sales in Canada and in third country markets. As a result of the negotiation, Canada will eliminate what is known as its milk classes 6 and 7. In addition, Canada will apply export charges to its exports of skim milk powder, milk protein concentrates and infant formula at volumes over agreed threshold, which will allow United States producers to expand sales overseas.

Key Achievement: Setting Unprecedented Standards for Agricultural Biotechnology

For the first time, the agreement specifically addresses agricultural biotechnology to support 21st century innovations in agriculture. The text covers all biotechnologies, including new technologies such as gene editing, whereas the Trans-Pacific Partnership text covered only traditional rDNA technology. Specifically, the United States, Mexico, and Canada have agreed to provisions to enhance information exchange and cooperation on agricultural biotechnology trade-related matters.

Key Achievements: Significant Commitments to Reduce Trade Distorting Policies, Improve Transparency, and Ensure Non-Discriminatory Treatment for Agricultural Product Standards

Building on NAFTA, the United States, Mexico, and Canada agreed to work together in other fora on agriculture matters, improve transparency and consultations on matters affecting trade among the countries.

The United States, Mexico, and Canada agreed to several provisions to reduce the use of trade distorting policies, including:

To not use export subsidies or World Trade Organization (WTO) special agricultural safeguards for products exported to each other’s market.
Improved commitments to increase transparency and consultation regarding the use of export restrictions for food security purposes.
If supporting producers, to consider using domestic support measures that have minimal or no trade distorting or production effects and ensure transparency of domestic support programs.

Canada and the United States also agreed to strong rules to ensure tariff-rate quotas are administered fairly and transparently to ensure the ability of traders to fully use them.

Key Achievement: Fair Treatment for Quality Requirements for Wheat and other Agricultural Products

Canada has agreed to grade imports of United States wheat in a manner no less favorable than it accords Canadian wheat, and to not require a country of origin statement on its quality grade or inspection certificate. Canada and the United States also agreed to discuss issues related to seed regulatory systems.

To facilitate the marketing of food and agricultural products, Mexico and the United States agreed that grading standards and services will be non-discriminatory for all agricultural goods and will establish a dialogue to discuss grading and quality trade related matters.

Key Achievement: Enhanced Rules for Science-Based Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

In the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures chapter, the United States, Mexico, and Canada have agreed to strengthen disciplines for science-based SPS measures, while ensuring Parties maintain their sovereign right to protect human, animal, and plant life or health. Provisions include increasing transparency on the development and implementation of SPS measures; advancing science-based decision making; improving processes for certification, regionalization and equivalency determinations; conducting systems-based audits; improving transparency for import checks; and working together to enhance compatibility of measures. The new agreement would establish a new mechanism for technical consultations to resolve issues between the Parties.

Key Achievement: New Disciplines on Geographic Indications

The Parties agreed to provide important procedural safeguards for recognition of new geographical indications (GIs), including strong standards for protection against issuances of GIs that would prevent United States producers from using common names, as well as establish a mechanism for consultation between the Parties on future GIs pursuant to international agreements.

Key Achievement: Market Access for Certain Cheese Names

Mexico agreed to not restrict market access in Mexico for U.S. cheeses labeled with certain names.

Key Achievement: Prohibiting Barriers for Alcohol Beverages

The United States, Mexico, and Canada agreed to non-discrimination and transparency commitments regarding sale and distribution, and labeling and certification provisions to avoid technical barriers to trade in wine and distilled spirits. They agreed to continue recognition of Bourbon Whiskey, Tennessee Whiskey, Tequila, Mezcal, and Canadian Whisky as distinctive products.

Key Achievement: New Protections for Proprietary Food Formulas

To meet technical regulations and standards related to prepackaged food and food additives, governments may require information from companies relating to the companies’ proprietary formulas. The United States, Mexico, and Canada agreed on the Annex on Proprietary Food Formulas, which requires each Party to protect the confidentiality of such information in the same manner for domestic and imported products. It also limits such information requirements to what is necessary to achieve legitimate objectives.

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Trade Agreements can create opportunities for Americans and help to grow the U.S. economy.

USTR has principal responsibility for administering U.S. trade agreements. This involves monitoring our trading partners' implementation of trade agreements with the United States, enforcing America's rights under those agreements, and negotiating and signing trade agreements that advance the President's trade policy.

The United States is Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement) sets out rules governing trade among the WTO's 154 members. The United States and other WTO Members are currently engaged in Doha Development Round of world trade talks, and a strong, market-opening Doha agreement for both goods and services would be an important contribution to addressing the global economic crisis and helping to restore trade's role in leading economic growth and development.

The United States has free trade agreements (FTAs) in effect with 20 countries. These FTAs build on the foundation of the WTO Agreement, with more comprehensive and stronger disciplines than the WTO Agreement. Many of our FTAs are bilateral agreements between two governments. But some, like the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, are multilateral agreements among several parties.

Another important type of trade agreement is the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. TIFAs provide frameworks for governments to discuss and resolve trade and investment issues at an early stage. These agreements are also a means to identify and work on capacity-building where appropriate.

The United States also has a series of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) help protect private investment, develop market-oriented policies in partner countries, and promote U.S. exports.

Detailed descriptions and the texts of many U.S. trade agreements can be accessed through the Resource Center on the left.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was enacted in 1994 and created a free trade zone for Mexico, Canada, and the United States, is the most important feature in the U.S.-Mexico bilateral commercial relationship. As of January 1, 2008, all tariffs and quotas were eliminated on U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Mexico is the United States’ third largest trading partner and second largest export market for U.S. products. In 2018, Mexico was our third-largest trading partner (after Canada and China) and second-largest export market. Two-way trade in goods and services totaled USD 678 billion, and this trade directly and indirectly supports millions of U.S. jobs. The United States sold USD 265 billion of U.S. products to Mexico in 2018 and USD 34 billion in services, for a total of USD 299 billion in U.S. sales to Mexico. Mexico is the first or second-largest export destination for 27 U.S. states.

NAFTA provides coverage to services except for aviation transport, maritime, and basic telecommunications. The agreement also provides intellectual property rights protection in a variety of areas including patent, trademark, and copyrighted material. The government procurement provisions of the NAFTA apply not only to goods but to contracts for services and construction at the federal level. Additionally, U.S. investors are guaranteed equal treatment to domestic investors in Mexico and Canada.

NAFTA allows your company to ship qualifying goods to customers in Canada and Mexico duty free. Goods can qualify in several ways under NAFTA’s rules of origin.This might be due to the products being wholly obtained or produced in a NAFTA party or because according to the product’s rule of origin there is sufficient amount of work and materials required in a NAFTA party to make the product become what it is when its exported.

Rules of Origin

For goods that are not wholly obtained, you must meet the product’s rule of origin, usually through Tariff Shift or Regional Value Content. Learn more about How to Read and Apply FTA Rules of Origin.

The rules of origin (ROO) may be found in the final text of the FTA. Occasionally, a particular ROO may be revised. For the most updated version of the ROOs consult the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, General Notes — General Note 33.

In addition to the above rules of origin, there may be other ways to qualify your product:

Accumulation may allow the producer to reduce the value of the non-originating materials used in the production of the good.
De Minimis allows the exporter to disregard a very small percentage of non-originating materials the do no meet a tariff shift rule.
Direct Shipment are goods which must be shipped directly from one FTA party to another FTA party.
Fungible Goods and Materials refers to goods or materials (components) that are interchangeable for commercial purposes and whose properties are essentially identical.
Indirect Materials are goods used in the production, testing or inspection of a good but not physically incorporated into the good.

Claiming/Documenting Origin

Once you have determined that your product qualifies for NAFTA, read below section for how to declare that the product qualifies for preferential tariff treatment.

NAFTA Certificate of Origin

Key Tips:

The exporter is responsible for filling out the NAFTA Certificate of Origin, not the importer.
Once an exporter has determined the product qualifies for NAFTA, the exporter needs to fill out a NAFTA Certificate of Origin UNLESS the product going to Canada or Mexico is valued at LESS than $1,000 USD. In these cases, the exporter simply needs to make a written declaration on the commercial invoice stating that the product is NAFTA qualifying.
Once the Certificate is completed, the exporter needs to send the original or a copy of the Certificate of Origin to the importer. It is recommended that a copy of the Certificate of Origin is also included with the shipment. The exporter is required to keep all documentation of NAFTA claims five years from the date of importation or such longer period as a Party may specify after the completion of the transaction.
NAFTA Certificate of Origin (PDF from Customs and Border Protection).
For more on completing a NAFTA Certificate of Origin, view Part one and Part two of the video series.

Supporting Documentation

The issuer of a written declaration of origin is required to have it available, in addition to other supporting documentation used in demonstrating that the good qualifies as originating under the NAFTA rules of origin, for a period of FIVE years from the date of importation of the good for products going to Canada and for a period of TEN years from the date of importation of the good for products going to Mexico.