North American Economic Integration

This work explains the theoretical, historical and political background of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), covering its impact and the debates surrounding its existence. The authors also introduce the theory of economic integration and post-war economic management.

When it came into force in 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) joined the economic futures of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with systematic rules governing trade and investment, dispute resolution, and economic relations. However, economic integration among the three countries extends considerably beyond trade and investment. The NAFTA agreement takes a very narrow view of integration, barely addressing such vital issues as immigration policy and labor markets, the energy sector, environmental protection, and law enforcement. The governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States now must confront the question of whether NAFTA is enough. Do they want to keep their trilateral relationship focused on economic matters or are they interested in integrating more deeply—perhaps initiating a process to build a North American Community similar to the European Union? This volume contains thoughtful discussions about the future of North America by knowledgeable experts from each of the three countries. Robert Pastor has written one of the more comprehensive books on the subject, Toward a North American Community (Institute for International Economics, 2001). Andrés Rozental is an ambassador at large for Mexico and president of Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internationacionales, the country's leading foreign policy association in Mexico. Perrin Beatty is a former foreign minister of Canada and currently the president and CEO of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. The governments of Canada, the United States, and Mexico face thorny challenges as they decide whether and how to accelerate smooth, and institutionalize the integration process. Pastor, Rozenthal, and Beatty encourage greater dialogue among the three governments and their citizens, as well as more systematic thinking among policymakers and citizens about the promise and challenges of further North American integration. This volume considers the promise and challenges of further North American integration, including: - migration, security cooperation, and cross-border commerce - the establishment of a permanent North American Court on Trade and Investment, to replace the current ad hoc tribunals -the possibility of widening NAFTA to incorporate countries in Central America and the Caribbean -collaboration in dealing with criminal drug trafficking, environmental protection, energy and water management, and transportation, communications and other infrastructure development.

This publication explores the links between trade liberalisation and migration movements in North America and discusses the issue of whether the free circulation of persons accompany the successive stages of regional economic integration.

North America is steering a new course, with the United States, Canada, and Mexico moving toward continental economic, integration. This book examines basic value changes that are' transforming economic, social, and political life in these three countries, demonstrating that they are gradually adopting an increasingly compatible cultural perspective. A narrow nationalism, dominant since the 19th century, has slowly been giving way to a more cosmopolitan sense of identity. As old economic boundaries become outmoded, a North American perspective makes greater sense. To what extent, then, do the three North American publics - I each with its own heterogeneities and tensions - share a common culture? That question can only be answered if we have some yardstick by which to measure their cultural similarity. These societies are far from identical. But data from the 1990- 1991 World Values survey, drawn from 43 societies around the world, show that on crucial topics, the core values of the American public are significantly closer to those of the Canadians and (to a somewhat lesser extent) to those of the Mexicans, than they are to those of most other peoples in the world. Furthermore, time series evidence indicates that the values of the three North American publics have been converging. This book draws on a unique body of directly comparable cross-national and cross-temporal survey evidence to show that what Americans, Canadians, and Mexicans want out of life is changing in analogous ways. These changes, coupled with sociostructural transformations, are reshaping peoples' feelings about national identity, about trusting each other, and about the balance between economic and non-economic goals. North American economic integration is being reinforced by the gradual emergence of increasingly similar cultural values.

Can North America survive as a region in light of the political turbulence provoked by the global economic crisis? Or have regional integration and collaboration reached a plateau beyond which disintegration is likely? In North America in Question, leading analysts from Canada, the United States, and Mexico provide theoretically innovative and rich empirical reflections on current challenges sweeping the continent and on the faltering political support for North American regionalism. This collection begins by reviewing the recent trajectories and events that have undermined North America's trilateral relationship, then addresses concerns that go beyond NAFTA and economic issues, including labour, immigration, energy, the environment, quality of citizenship, borders, women's and civil society struggles, and democratic deficits. Although demonstrating that many informal dimensions of North American integration continue to flourish, the contributors assess whether the future will hold greater economic instability, security crises, and emerging bilateral relationships.

The course of events since the implementation of NAFTA has had unexpected elements with significant impacts on North American integration. First has been the rise of China as a larger source of imports and production partner than Mexico. Second has been the rise of security concerns since September 11, 2001. The result has been much stronger integration between Canada and the US than with Mexico. Migration issues are now linked with security, which has risen to a top priority in the international agenda. While liberalization has furnished strong economic incentives for integration, it has not provided a sufficient guide for the political process, which requires leadership and appropriate institutions to coordinate and regulate the special interest groups. A coherent and effective North American integration would be a valuable asset in the context of global integration and competition, yet the issues involved are quite complex and varied. North American Integration: An Institutional Void in Migration, Security and Development examines the current state of North American integration. Editors Gaspare M. Genna and David A. Mayer-Foulkes gather an international group of experts to give a broad, coherent picture of the current, multifaceted process of integration, and find that institutional development is an essential component. Divided into three sections, the book: - Discuss the determinants of integration and shows that the institutional characteristics of the three countries, including democracy and basic rights, are the most important. - Provides examples of institutional building in contexts for which institutions are lacking, specifically labor, migration and health issues. - Examines issues such as overall security arrangements, trade, drug related violence, energy, and the continuing wage gap among the countries, which have an important bearing on integration.