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Glite Dictionary
North American Free Trade Agreement

North American Free Trade Agreement

14 3.7
An agreement from 1994 that made trade easier between the United States, Canada, and Mexico
  • noun
  • /nɔrθ əˈmɛrɪkən fri treɪd əˈgrimənt/
  • Formal
translation icon : Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte
  • The centerpiece of Mexican policy of financial and trade liberalization is the proposed "North American Free Trade Agreement" with the United States and Canada.
  • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
  • implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement
  • negotiations for a North American Free Trade Agreement

Examples

  • Also, recent modifications of protectionist policies, in part related to the North American Free Trade Agreement, will draw more foreign companies to the valley.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The United States-Canada Trade Agreement and the proposed North American Free Trade Agreement make it imperative that the United States address the problems discussed here.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Mexico and the North American Free Trade Agreement: Who will benefit?

    Academic text (1996)

  • My hope would be that that is not the case, but rather that we end up with a single North American Free Trade Agreement.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Sooner or later, it seems likely we will have a North American Free Trade Agreement.

    Academic text (1992)

  • We may have an excellent sustainable development opportunity at hand with the North American Free Trade Agreement.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Additional legislation designed to compensate displaced workers was adopted following the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The North American Free Trade Agreement marks a crossroads in hemispheric relations.

    Academic text (1995)

  • In the U.S., some initially blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for this decline.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, trade between Canada, Mexico, and the United States has significantly increased.

Surface Forms

North American Free Trade Agreement singular
North American Free Trade Agreements plural

Morphology

north + American + free + trade + agreement

The phrase is compositionally built from identifiable parts: 'North American' signals the regional scope and 'agreement' signals a formal arrangement, so a learner can infer it is a pact about trade between North American countries. However, the specialized sense of 'free trade' (trade without tariffs or barriers) is somewhat technical and 'free' could be misread as 'without cost', so the overall meaning is only partially predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

North American Free Trade Agreement simply names what it is: North American points to the region, Free Trade means trade with fewer taxes and rules, and Agreement means an 'official deal' signed by the countries; so the name literally tells you it is an official deal to make trade easier between countries in North America.