Binational Panel Reviews and Arbitral Panel Reports under the NAFTA. Organization of American States.
It contains the full text of the opinions and orders of the Panels on different subjects that deal with the Agreement.

The Experience of NAFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanisms: Lessons for the FTAA by Gustavo Vega Cánovas. El Colegio de México. Conference at the D´Etudes Internationales. University of Québec at Montreal.
March 20, 2003.
The author reviews the experience of each mechanism embedded in NAFTA, and reach some conclusions of this experience. In addition, he derives some lessons for the FTAA.

Final Report of the NAFTA Arbitral Panel on Cross-Border Trucking Services.
February 6, 2001.
It provides a general overview of the dispute, history of the proceedings, factual background, analysis of the issues, as well as findings, determinations, and recommendations.

NAFTA Dispute Settlement. NAFTA Secretariat.
The NAFTA Secretariat, comprised of the Canadian, U.S. and Mexican Sections, is an organization, established by the Free Trade Commission, pursuant to Article 2002, Chapter 20 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It is responsible for the administration of the dispute settlement provisions of the Agreement.

In this section you will find:
1) An overview of dispute settlement provisions of the NAFTA. Topics covered include: Chapters 11, 19, and 20; Extraordinary Challenge Procedure; Safeguarding the Panel Review System; Rosters, and Panel Selection.
2) Status Report of panel proceedings - includes FTA and NAFTA panel reviews. It gives a brief summary of each dispute, both active and completed.
3) Panel Decisions and Reports - this page is a gateway to FTA and NAFTA panel decisions and reports.

NAFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanisms: An Overview. John Kirton. University of Toronto.
May 27, 2004.
Along with many new trilateral institutions and processes for dispute avoidance and management, the NAFTA regime brought five major formal dispute settlement mechanisms. What are the core features, and distinctive contribution of each, as they were designed and as they have operated during their first decade? This brief overview suggests some simple answers, as a start for the more detailed examination from the experts that follow.

North American Free Trade Agreement: U.S. Experience With Environment, Labor, and Investment Dispute Settlement Cases. General Accounting Office.
July 2001.
This report provides information on the institutional structure, principles, process, cases, and outcomes associated with (1) the environmental side agreement’s submission process, (2) the labor side agreement’s submission process, and (3) NAFTA’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. In addition, this report includes information on fines and trade sanctions under the side agreements, as well as summary data on cases filed under both the side agreements and chapter 11.

Cross-Border Trucking with Mexico. Hearing before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. U.S. Senate. 110th Congress. 1st Session. S. Hrg. 110-283.
March 8, 2007.
In the hearing safety and security were discussed, it also focused on the economics of crossborder trucking, and the administration’s proposed 1-year pilot project was reviewed.

NAFTA: A Ten Year Perspective and Implications for the Future.. Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion of the Committee on Foreign Relations. U.S. Senate. 108th Congress. 2nd. Session. S. Hrg. 108-593.
April 20, 2004.
Free trade agreements such as NAFTA allow nations to find cooperative solutions to ever-changing conditions in the global economy. This hearing examines what has transpired over the last decade with NAFTA and what the future might hold for this agreement and its partners.

NAFTA at Year Twelve.
Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Trade of the Committee on Finance. U.S. Senate. 109th Congress. 2nd Session. S. Hrg. 109–992. September 11, 2006.
The hearing was intended to provide an update from USTR on NAFTA, as well as an update on the review that was going on. Customs officials testified on a variety of border issues that have arisen during the agreement and how the trade between the countries has impacted the global war on terror. Finally, a panel of witnesses that included economists, agricultural representatives, and businessmen who have investments along the U.S.-Mexican border was invited to share their thoughts.

U.S.-Mexican Relations: The Unfinished Agenda. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate. 107th Congress, 2nd. Session. S. Hrg. 107-578.
April 16, 2002.
This was the first in a series of hearings whose purpose is to assess the challenges to economic growth, democracy and the rule of law facing countries in the Western Hemisphere. Among the questions that these hearings will focus on are whether existing U.S. policies are fully responsive to current circumstances that exist in the Americas, or whether those policies should be altered in order to better serve U.S. economic, political and national security interests throughout the Americas.

Briefing Room: North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). U.S. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service.
ERS is the principal USDA agency involved in the preparation of the Department's Congressionally mandated NAFTA Report. ERS also conducts smaller research projects about NAFTA-related topics, including U.S.-Mexico transportation, the relative cost of agricultural inputs in Canada and the United States, and the potential impact of proposed trade agreements, such as the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA).

Canada and the North American Free Trade Agreement. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Find the text of the Agreement, publications and general information. Topics include an overview of the NAFTA, rules of origin, temporary entry of business persons, NAFTA institutions and contacts.

Center for Trade Policy Studies. CATO Institute.
Collection of documents focusing on trade, published by the Center, that provide evaluations of policies and offer proposals for reform.

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). United Nations Organization.
The purposes of the Commission are: contribute to the economic development of Latin America and the Caribbean, coordinate actions directed towards this end, and reinforce economic relationships among the countries and with the other nations of the world, as well as to promote the region's social development.

Foreign Trade Information System (SICE for short from its Spanish acronym). Organization of American States.
SICE is the OAS Trade Unit’s Foreign Trade Information System. Its goal is to provide the most complete information and documents on trade in the Western Hemisphere as possible. It centralizes the location of public -- but often difficult to locate or obtain -- documents on their Web site in the four official languages of the OAS (English, Spanish, Portuguese and French).

Integral Information System on Foreign Trade (SIICEX). Ministry of Economics.
Through this portal you can obtain, in just one place, information on foreign trade: laws, regulations, treaties, tariffs, statistics, bulletins, etc.

NAFTA Resources. LANIC (Latin America Network Information Center).
List of sites that include related academic resources, documents, and publications, news, etc.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). U.S. Trade Representative.
It offers links to: Doing business in the NAFTA countries, reports and publications, speeches and testimony, and press releases.

NAFTA Web Site. U.S. Customs & Border Protection. Department of Homeland Security.
It presents in alphabetical order a definition of terms used in international commerce, as well as links where more information and related documents can be found.

Regional Trading Blocs. Peterson Institute for International Economics (IIE).
Full text of IIE studies: Policy Briefs, Working Papers, speeches and testimony on international economic policy. The Institute's current priority is attached to globalization and the backlash against it, reform of the international financial architecture, and new trade negotiations at both the multilateral and regional levels.

Trade Glossary. U.S. Department of State. International Information Programs.
January 2008.

United States Foreign Trade Highlights. U.S. Department of Commerce. International Trade Administration.
It provides data on U.S. international trade in goods and services. Emphasis is on goods trade: aggregate exports and imports, U.S. commodity and country/regional trade balances, and shifts in the commodity composition of U.S. exports and imports with major trading partners and regions.

  • Archive - Dated Material
For current statistics see: TradeStats Express

Western Hemispheric Trade Information Center. Texas A&M International University.
The Center's main objective is to provide an electronic repository of textual data for the sole purpose of educational research.

Border Environment Cooperation Commission. English / Spanish
The BECC with headquarters in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, assists local communities and other sponsors in developing and implementing environmental infrastructure projects, and certifies projects for North American Development Bank financing.

Border Trade Alliance.
It is a grassroots, non-profit organization that serves as a forum for discussing and advocating issues pertaining to free trade, cross-border economic development and quality of life.

Commission for Labor Cooperation. English / Spanish
The Commission for Labor Cooperation, consisting of a Ministerial Council and a Secretariat, is an international organization created under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation ("NAALC"). The NAALC is the first agreement, and the Commission is the first organization, linking labor rights and labor standards to an international trade agreement.

NAFTA Secretariat. English / Spanish
The NAFTA Secretariat, comprised of the Canadian, U.S. and Mexican Sections, is a unique organization, established by the Free Trade Commission, pursuant to Article 2002, Chapter 20 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It is responsible for the administration of the dispute settlement provisions of the Agreement.

North American Development Bank. English / Spanish
The NADBank established in San Antonio, Texas, is a bilaterally-funded, international organization, in which Mexico and the U.S. participate as equal partners in a joint effort to preserve and promote the health and welfare of border residents and their environment.

North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation. English / Spanish
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law.

North American Plant Protection Organization. English / Spanish
A regional plant protection organization of the International Plant Protection Convention, coordinates the efforts among Canada, the United States and Mexico to protect their plant resources from the entry, establishment and spread of regulated plant pests, while facilitating intra/interregional trade.

U.S. Commercial Service. U.S. Department of Commerce.
This service has the goals of assisting American companies to start business in Mexico, support them to increase their participation in the market, as well as to solve trade barriers that could arise. Additionally, orients Mexican companies and institutions which are doing business with American companies, or are willing to do them.

Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS). U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Turn on NAFTA filter)
It is a searchable database of CBP rulings that can be retrieved based on simple or complex search characteristics using keywords and Boolean operators.

NAFTA Legislative History. U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
It contains the text of the Public Law 103-182 "An Act to implement the North American Free Trade Agreement" (also known as the Customs Modernization Act), as well as House and Senate related reports.

NAFTA-Related Rulings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
It contains the full text of a variety of determinations made by the Commercial Rulings Division of the U.S. Customs. Each one includes: tariff number, facts, issues, law and analysis, and holding. The topics are numerous and range from marking of automobile convenience nets to folklore apparel from Mexico.

NAFTA Certificate of Origin through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Form 434): Revenue Canada (Form B232).
Downloadable form of the certificate.

NAFTA: A Guide to Customs Procedures. U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
It is a reference guide indexing the customs procedures used in each country to give effect to specific provisions, intended for the benefit of traffic managers, customs brokers, importers and others active in trade under the NAFTA.

Country and Industry Market Reports. U.S. Government Export Portal. Access to the U.S. Commercial Service Market Research Library containing more than 100,000 industry and country-specific market reports, web sites, events, and trade directory listings. Included Reports: Country Commercial Guides, Industry Sector Analyses, Marketing Insights, Multilateral Development Bank Reports, Best Markets, and other Industry/Regional Reports.

Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress. Mark P. Sullivan, and June S. Beittel. CRS Specialists in Latin American Affairs.
RL32724. May 1, 2009.
The 111th Congress is maintaining an active interest in Mexico with counternarcotics, border, and trade issues dominating the agenda. To date, there have more than a dozen hearings dealing with the increased violence in Mexico as well as U.S. foreign assistance and border security efforts. Comprehensive immigration reform efforts once again could be considered in the 111th Congress.

Mexico’s Free Trade Agreements. M. Angeles Villarreal, CRS Specialist in International Trade and Finance.
R40784. August 27, 2009.
Mexico has had a growing commitment to trade integration through the formation of free trade agreements (FTAs) since the 1990s and its trade policy is among the most open in the world. It has a total of 11 trade agreements involving 41 countries. The large number of trade agreements, however, has not yet been successful in decreasing Mexico’s dependence on trade with the United States.

NAFTA at 15: Building on Free Trade. Steven Zahniser and Zachary Crago. Economic Research Service, USDA.
WRS-09-03. March 31, 2009.
Implementation of the agricultural provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has drawn to a close. In 2008, the last of NAFTA’s transitional restrictions governing U.S.-Mexico and Canada-Mexico agricultural trade were removed, concluding a 14-year project in which the member countries systematically dismantled numerous barriers to regional agricultural trade.

NAFTA Benefits. U.S. Trade Representative.
October 2007.
Fact sheet with figures and results.

NAFTA Labor Side Agreement: Lessons for the Worker Rights and Fast-Track Debate by Mary Jane Bolle, CRS Specialist in International Trade, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
Updated January 11, 2002.
NAFTA was the first trade agreement ever linked to worker rights provisions in a major way. Its companion "side agreement," the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) went into effect with NAFTA on January 1, 1994. The NAALC agreement is "broad" in that NAFTA signatories agree to enforce their own labor laws and standards while promoting 11 worker rights principles over the long run. However, under NAALC, sanctions as an enforcement tool are applicable to only three of the 11 labor principles (pertaining to minimum wages, child labor, and occupational safety and health), and are not applicable to three basic rights: the right to organize, bargain collectively, and strike.

NAFTA – Myth vs. Facts. U.S. Trade Representative.
March 2008.
Fact sheet with eight common believes, and the corresponding evidence that refutes them.

NAFTA: Related Environmental Issues and Initiatives by Mary Tiemann, CRS Specialist in Environmental Policy.
March 1, 2000.
Since NAFTA's inception, its environmental implications have remained a subject of debate and legislation. Ongoing issues include NAFTA's possible environmental effects, border funding, and the implementation of NAFTA-related environmental agreements. This report provides an overview of NAFTA's environmental provisions and associated agreements and initiatives, and discusses recent issues and congressional activities.

NAFTA: The Road Ahead. U.S. Trade Representative.
2007.
The NAFTA has demonstrated that trade liberalization plays an important role in stimulating economic growth.

National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers 2009. U.S. Trade Representative.
2009.
Chapter for Mexico.
An inventory of the most important foreign barriers affecting U.S. exports of goods and services, foreign direct investment by U.S. persons, and protection of intellectual property rights.

Reports to the NAFTA Free Trade Commission. Organization of American States.
Includes a variety of topics: agricultural trade, financial services, investment and services, rules of origin, temporary entry of business persons, etc.

Top U.S. Export Markets. Free Trade Agreement and Country Fact Sheets. U.S. Department of Commerce. International Trade Administration.
Summer 2008.
This report, is prepared by Market Access and Compliance (MAC), a unit of the ITA. MAC Country desk officers are experts on the commercial, economic, and political climates in their assigned countries. They focus on resolving trade complaints and market access issues, such as those related to: Intellectual Property and Piracy, Quotas, Standards, Customs, Transparency and Contract Sanctity, Discriminatory Treatment, Good Governance, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards.

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated. U.S. International Trade Commission.
The HTSA provides the applicable tariff rates and statistical categories for all merchandise imported into the United States; it is based on the International Harmonized System, the global classification system that is used to describe most world trade in goods.

North American Industry Classification System. U.S. Census Bureau.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America.

U.S.-Latin America Trade: Recent Trends and Policy Issues. J. F. Hornbeck, CRS Specialist in International Trade and Finance.
98-840. September 3, 2009.
Over the last 15 years, the United States has implemented multiple free trade agreements (FTAs) with the region. The inability to consummate an FTAA, the growing skepticism of U.S. bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), both abroad and in the United States, trade disputes, and the anxiety over the global economic downturn all contribute to a sense of uncertainty over the future path of hemispheric economic integration. The result in the Western Hemisphere has been the expanding system of disparate bilateral and plurilateral agreements, which are widely understood to be a second best solution for reaping the benefits of trade liberalization.

U.S.-Mexico Economic Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications. M. Angeles Villarreal, CRS Specialist in International Trade and Finance.
RL 32934. April 3, 2009.
The United States and Mexico have strong economic ties. An important feature of the relationship is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has been in effect since 1994. Over the last decade, the economic relationship between the United States and Mexico has strengthened significantly. The two countries continue to cooperate on issues of mutual concern.

Border Trade Data. Texas A&M International University. Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development.
Through this page you can obtain figures for U.S. exports and imports. Reports can be found for activity by U.S. border port of entry/exit. It also contains a data compilation about crossings through the international bridges in the South Texas Border, as well as a summary of key economic factors that signal local growth and development.

Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S. : Balance of Payments and Direct Investment Position. U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Detailed annual balance of payments and position estimates: capital flows, income, by country and area of the world, as well as industry detail for position, etc.
Selected tables / interactive tables

Foreign Trade Statistics. U.S. Census Bureau.
It offers statistics (monthly reports, imports and exports by country, trade balances, commodity trade); information (codes, classifications, regulations, Automated Export System, quality reports, etc.); as well as services.

Mexican government foreign trade statistics. Ministry of Economics.
Mexico's trade statistics by country and main products, foreign direct investment, trade reports, and tariff information.

North American Transportation in Figures. U.S. Census Bureau [et al.]
English / Spanish
It provides a comprehensive overview of transportation statistics in North America. The report contains over 90 data tables, supported by graphs, figures, maps, and a number of appendixes.

State Exports. U.S. Department of Commerce. International Trade Administration.
This web site contains export data for a limited number of major U.S. export markets. All data presented are based on the Census Bureau's Exporter Location (EL) series, which allocates exports to states on the basis of the location of the exporter of record.

TradeStats Express. U.S. Department of Commerce. International Trade Administration.
Get the latest national trade data (U.S. merchandise exports, imports, and trade balances), as well as state export data (state and regional exports of merchandise.) Retrieve, visualize, analyze, print, and download your customized output, which can be by individual countries, geographic regions, or trading and economic regions, including NAFTA.

U.S. Direct Investment Abroad : Balance of Payments and Direct Investment Position Data. U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Detailed annual balance of payments and position estimates: capital flows and income by country and area of the world, as well as industry detail for position, etc.
Selected tables / interactive tables

U.S. International Services: Cross-Border Trade & Sales Through Affiliates. U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
These files contain historical data for U.S. international services, which are published annually in the Survey of Current Business, the monthly publication of the BEA.

U.S. International Transactions Accounts Data. U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
It provides interactive access to the U.S. International Transactions Accounts, which are presented in a set of 11 tables. To view the most recent data for an entire table, you can click on the table title. To customize your data selection, click on the button next to the table title.

U.S. International Transactions, by Area - Canada. U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The user can retrieve annual statistics according to his needs: establish comparisons between periods of time for the entire accounts or just for specific figures for the country: exports, imports, balance on goods and services, direct investment, etc. The backfile covers since 1960.

U.S. International Transactions, by Area - Latin America and Other Western Hemisphere. U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The user can retrieve statistics according to his needs: annual or quarterly, establish comparisons between periods of time for the entire accounts or just for specific figures for the region: exports, imports, balance on goods and services, direct investment, etc. The backfile covers since 1960.

U.S. International Transactions, by Area – Mexico U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The user can retrieve annual statistics according to his needs: establish comparisons between periods of time for the entire accounts or just for specific figures for the country: exports, imports, balance on goods and services, direct investment, etc. The backfile covers since 1986.

U.S. Top Trading Partners. U.S. Census Bureau.
It allows you to select the month for which you would like to see the top countries with which the United States has a deficit, surplus and total trade, from January 1998 to the current month.

U.S. Trade Balance with Canada. U.S. Census Bureau.
It contains figures (since 1985) of exports, imports and trade balance presented by year and month.

U.S. Trade Balance with Mexico. U.S. Census Bureau.
It contains figures since 1985 of exports, imports and trade balance presented by year and month.

NAFTA Text. Organization of American States.
English / Spanish
Full text of the Agreement.

North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. Organization of American States.
English / Spanish
Full text of the side Agreement signed by the U.S., Canada and Mexico reconfirming the importance of the environmental goals and objectives of the NAFTA, including enhanced levels of environmental protection.

North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation. Organization of American States.
English / Spanish
Full text of the side Agreement signed by the three parties convinced of the benefits to be gained from further cooperation between them on labor matters.