NAFTA: Economic Effects on the United States After Five Years (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
June 10, 1999 |
| Report Number |
RS20229 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Arlene Wilson, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The main economic benefit of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is that, over
time, it is expected to increase productivity and incomes in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
In the near term, some reallocation of resources occurs within each country, generating gains for
some producers and workers and costs for others. Since the Mexican and Canadian economies are
small relative to the U.S. economy, both the long-term benefits and short-term adjustment costs of
the NAFTA to the United States are expected to be small. The data suggest that NAFTA has had
a positive, but small, effect on U.S. trade with Mexico and that U.S. direct investment in Mexico
remains very small relative to total U.S. investment abroad. The number of workers displaced by
import competition with Canada and Mexico or production shifts to those countries is estimated to
be very small compared with total U.S. employment.
