• Eliminating barriers to trade
• Promoting fair competition
• Increasing investment opportunities
• Providing protection for intellectual property rights.

The Agreement states that the objectives of NAFTA are to be fully implemented by 2008. The implementation of NAFTA has made North America the largest free-trade zone in the world. NAFTA created the Free Trade Commission, a body comprising cabinet-level representatives from the three countries, to supervise the implementation of NAFTA.

General Provisions

With limited exceptions, NAFTA provides that goods imported by one member country from another member country will not be subject to discrimination. In order to qualify for this special treatment, the product must be an "originating" good. Generally speaking, rules of origin provide that "originating" goods are those that fall within four basic categories:

• They are wholly obtained or produced in the NAFTA area
• They are made entirely from "originating" materials
• Any non-originating materials have undergone a change in tariff classification and, if required, contain the prescribed level of North American content
• If the goods and their parts are classified in the same tariff heading, they satisfy a regional value-content requirement.

Pursuant to NAFTA, tariffs are phased out for most originating goods traded between the member nations. The countries are also prohibited from imposing new customs user fees, and nearly all export taxes are banned.

In additions to its general trading provisions, NAFTA also facilitates the cross-border movement of four categories of business persons and their spouses and children:

• "Business Visitors"
• "Professionals"
• "Intra-Company Transferees"
• "Traders and Investors"

Dispute Resolution

NAFTA sets forth very detailed rules for resolving disputes arising under the Agreement. The four main dispute resolution provisions of NAFTA are as follows:

• "Chapter 19" provides for a bi-national panel review for domestic decisions regarding anti-dumping and countervailing duty matters
• "Chapter 20" sets forth procedures for the avoidance and settlement of all disputes arising under NAFTA
• "Chapter 14" provides for the resolution of conflicts in the area of financial services
• "Chapter 11" establishes dispute resolution procedures for disputes arising between investors and NAFTA countries.

The NAFTA Secretariat, which includes American, Mexican, and Canadian sections, was established under the Agreement to administer NAFTA's dispute resolutions provisions.

Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.