January 2004 saw the entry into force of NAFTA, the free-trade agreement with the US and Canada. This agreement set the pattern for the US imposition of FTAs elsewhere. It contains basic elements that would be repeated in many subsequent FTAs. By the same token, its adoption kickstarted the civil society movement of resistance to FTAs that has been gathering strength for the last 15 years.
In addition to NAFTA, Mexico has signed the following FTAs:
– Bolivia (1994)
– Costa Rica (1994)
– Group of Three (Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela (1994); Venezuela pulled out in November 2006; in March 2011, the Mexican Congress agreed to extend the Colombian FTA to agriculture)
– Nicaragua (1997)
– Chile (1998)
– EU (1999)
– EFTA (2000)
– Israel (2000)
– Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, 2000)
– Uruguay (2003)
– Japan (2005)
– Central America (2011, unifying all previous FTAs with the different countries)
– Peru (ratified by the Mexican Congress in December 2011)
The government is currently in FTA discussions with Panama, Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and others.
Mexico’s FTAs with Colombia, Peru and Brazil have been the focus of intense resistance from the farming and fishing sectors.
last update: May 2012
Photo: Presidencia de la Repúblida de México - CC BY 2.0
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