United States—Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

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This agreement was signed by President Reagan and Prime Minister Mulroney on January 2, 1988 and, after implementing legislation was enacted in the United States and Canada, the Agreement entered into force on January 1, 1989. Its main purpose is to eliminate all tariffs on trade between the U.S. and Canada by January 1, 1998. According to Treaties in Force, " [t]his agreement is suspended, subject to certain transition arrangements with respect to dispute settlement proceedings under Chapters 18 and 19, for such time as the United States and Canada are parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement signed at Washington, Ottawa, and Mexico City December 8, 11, 14, and 17, 1992." (p.49, 2003).

Sources for the text of FTA

• The text of the agreement is not available in TIAS or UST, see 27 International Legal Materials 293 (1988) [KJ5 .I574].
• The Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (Ottawa, Ont.: The International Trade Communications Group, Dept. of External Affairs, 1988) [KF6668.C3 C361].
• J. Johnson and J. Schachter, The Free Trade Agreement: A Comprehensive Guide (Aurora, Ont.: Canada Law Book, 1988) [KF6668.C32 1988 J63].
• LEXIS (INTLAW; BDIEL or, if you are using the web version, look under "International Trade" in the Source Directory).
• Westlaw (IEL database).

Implementing Legislation

United States - Canada Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988, Pub. L. No. 100-449, 102 Stat. 1851 (1988), 19 USC 2112 note. See the code for amendments.

Selected Sources for Commentary and Background Information on FTA

• Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement: The Global Impact (Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics, 1988) [KF6668.C3 C36].
• Understanding the Free Trade Agreement (Donald M. McRae and Debra P. Steger eds., Halifax, N.S. : Institute for Research on Public Policy = Institut de recherches politiques, 1988) [KF6668.C32 1988 A32].

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Prepared by Marci Hoffman, International and Foreign Law Librarian, UC Berkeley Law Library, January 2004.