The NAFTA entered into force on 01 January 1994. The agreement contains an Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and an Agreement on Labor Cooperation.

Background documents
02 January 1988	Text of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement
Source: International Trade Canada

NAFTA Article 2001 establishes a Free Trade Commission, made up of cabinet-level representatives, that meet yearly to supervise the implementation of the Agreement, oversee its further elaboration, resolve disputes over the interpretation of the Agreement, supervise the work of the committees and working groups and consider any other matters that may affect the operation of the Agreement. The Commission may establish committees, working groups or expert groups and delegate responsibilities to them; and may seek the advice of non-governmental persons or groups.

The Free Trade Commission has met regularly. In 2001, the Commission adopted additional interpretations of Chapter 11. In 2004, negotiating drafts of Chapter 11 were released to the public.

Documents relating to the Free Trade Commission
03 April 2012	Washington, D.C., USA. Joint Statement of the 2012 NAFTA Free Trade Commission Meeting
10 January 2011	Mexico City, Mexico. Joint Statement of the 2011 NAFTA Free Trade Commission Meeting
19 October 2009	Dallas, Texas. Joint Statement of the 2009 NAFTA Free Trade Commission Meeting
14 August 2007	Vancouver, Canada. Joint Statement of 2007 NAFTA Commission meeting
24 March 2006	Acapulco, Mexico. Joint Statement of 2005 NAFTA Commission meeting
07 March 2005	Report from the Trilateral Working Group on Textiles and Apparel to the NAFTA Free Trade Commission
16 July 2004	San Antonio, Texas. NAFTA Free Trade Commission Joint Statement 2004: "A Decade of Achievement"
	NAFTA Chapter 11 - Trilateral Negotiating Draft Texts
07 October 2003	Montréal, Canada. NAFTA Free Trade Commission Joint Statement 2003: Celebrating NAFTA at Ten
	Free Trade Commission Statements on New Transparency Measures: Statement of the Free Trade Commission on non-disputing party participation Statement of the Free Trade Commission on notices of intent to submit a claim to arbitration Joint Statement on the Establishment, Operation and Initial Agenda of a North American Steel Committee
28 May 2002	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. NAFTA Free Trade Commission Joint Statement 2002: "A Foundation for Future Growth"
31 July 2001	Washington, D.C., USA. NAFTA Free Trade Commission Joint Statement 2001: Building on a North American Partnership
23 April 1999	Ottawa, Canada. NAFTA Free Trade Commission Joint Statement 1999: Five years of Achievement
29 April 1998	Paris, France. NAFTA Free Trade Commission Joint Statement 1998
20 March 1997	Washington, D.C., USA. NAFTA Free Trade Commission Joint Statement 1997
	Reports to the NAFTA Free Trade Commission
	Report to the Commission by the NAFTA Committee on Agricultural Trade Report to the Commission by the NAFTA Committee on Agricultural Trade   Report for the NAFTA Commission Meeting by the Financial Services Committee 1994-1996 Report from the Working Group on Government Procurement and Small Business   Report of the NAFTA Working Group on Investment and Services (Chapter 11 and 12) NAFTA Advisory Committee on Private Commercial Disputes Report to the Free Trade Commission Working Group on Rules of Origin (including Customs Subgroup) Report from the NAFTA Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures - June 21, 1996 Report from the Temporary Entry Working Group - Chapter 16 Interim Report of the NAFTA 1504 Working Group on Trade and Competition   March 1997 Report from the Committee on Trade in Goods (Chapter Three, Article 316)   Report on NAFTA Committee on Trade in Worn Clothing (Chapter Three, Annex 300-B, Section 9.1)   Report by the NAFTA Trade Remedies Working Groups
Sources: International Trade Canada; Office of the United States Trade Representative; Secretaría de Economía de México

NAFTA Article 302:3: states that:

"On the request of any Party, the Parties shall consult to consider accelerating the elimination of customs duties set out in their Schedules. An agreement between two or more Parties to accelerate the elimination of a customs duty on a good shall supersede any duty rate or staging category determined pursuant to their Schedules for such good when approved by each such Party in accordance with its applicable legal procedures."

There have been three rounds of tariff acceleration between Canada. The second and third rounds were implemented in 2001 and 2002.; There have been four rounds of tariff acceleration between the United States and Mexico: these were implemented in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2002.

On 01 July 2009, Canada and the United States implemented measures to liberalize the NAFTA rules of origin applicable to certain textile goods (Appendix 6, Annex 300-B).

Two months later, Canada implemented measures to amend some of the product specific NAFTA rules of origin (Annex 401). Mexico and the United States implemented these same amendments on 01October 2009 and 02 October 2009, respectively.
 

• International Trade Canada
• Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
• Secretaría de Economía de México