T (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs), the Uruguay round of trade talks, and other international trade agreements.
One of the most important effects of NAFTA, which has gone relatively unnoticed in public discussion (although Vice President Gore made reference to it in his November 10, 1993 debate with Ross Perot) would be to create an economic preference within the North American free-trade zone for goods made in other North American countries, as compared to goods entering North America from elsewhere in the world. For Mexican and Canadian goods sold in the United States, this would produce a modest competitive advantage. U.S. tariffs now average four percent, so the cost of goods entering the United States from these countries would be reduced by that amount (the retail differential would normally be less, due to value added after importation, retail mark-up, and so forth. The competitive advantage for United States goods sold in Mexico would be much greater; Mexican tariffs average ten percent, so U.S.-made goods would enjoy this degree of
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