The North American Free Trade Agreement and the Canadian Agri‐Food Sector

In the past five years, Canada has negotiated and ratified three trade agreements: the Canada‐United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the multilateral free trade agreement now administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO). This paper focuses on the implications for agri‐food trade of the NAFTA and its interface with the other two agreements. The provisions of the NAFTA are described and evaluated as they relate to market access, domestic support, export assistance, technical regulations and dispute settlement. Observations are presented on the NAFTA's potential effects on trade in red meats, grains and oilseeds, supply‐managed commodities and horticulture. In addition, some of the shortcomings of the NAFTA are highlighted.