Assessing the Effects of NAFTA ON Canada/US Agricultural Trade

Abstract

While there seems to be an agreement that Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (CUSTA)/North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have benefited member countries, some analysts have argued that the agreements had little effect on the bilateral Canada/US agricultural trade as many other factors have contributed to the increased trade flows. Results from this study reveal that the aggregate bilateral agricultural trade flows have generally experienced a steady growth since the implementation of NAFTA with trade flows seemingly favoring Canada more than the US since 1992. At the industry level, the impacts of NAFTA on Canada/US agricultural trade were varied with the sub-sectors analyzed responding differently to the bilateral trade liberalization.