Question

2. The U.S., Mexico and Canada recently renegotiated the NAFTA accord, which will now become the USMCA. What stage of regional integration is represented by NAFTA or the USMCA? What are the four steps that follow, leading to deeper integration? Explain how the loss of autonomy can work against the advancement of integration at each stage. In Kahler’s article on integration, he questioned the “world of blocs” that supposedly has arisen. What was the main contention in this article about integration?

Answer 1

NAFTA was a free trade agreements between The United States, Canada, and Mexico. Under this agreement all tariff barriers like quota and duty was abolished in order to create a common market. But NAFTA was archaic in the sense that it was signed in 1995, in the past 25 years a lot has changed. New products ans services like e commerce was not catered in NAFTA. For this USMCA was established, with features like:

1. Canadian dairy industry would get access.
2. Minimum 75 % of automobile would be assembled in the United States.
3. Labor wages would be kept to a minimum $15 per hour.
4. Digital rights were also introduced.
5. Intellectual property rights would prevail for 50 years.

USMCA was significant improvement over NAFTA. However this agreement is still not able to address the migration of labor from Mexico to the United States. The development trajectory of Mexico needs to catered in order to curb unnecessary migration.

Mexico being a developing nation is sandwiched between the usa ans Canada, that are developed nations. The interest of Mexico won't always be fulfilled. This is the point of contention, USMCA has established the argument of satellite and core States. Where the core nations grow at the cost of satellite States.