NAFTA Promotes US Trade with Mexico and Canada (1995)

Despite growing opposition to free trade, late 20th century politicians largely supported these policies. Case in point: the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which lowered trade barriers between the U.S, Mexico, and Canada. The trilateral deal was first negotiated by then-President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, and passed under the next president, Democrat Bill Clinton, in 1993. Clinton publicly and privately lobbied for the act’s passage, overcoming the fierce opposition of prominent labor unions and many members of his own party. This 1995 MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour report on NAFTA provides a general overview of the agreement while also showing the political opposition that initially threatened its passage. Trade ballooned after NAFTA encouraged commerce between the three countries: the total volume of U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico more than doubled in the decade after the agreement was enacted.