THE NORTH-AMERICAN FREE-TRADE AGREEMENT AND THE CANADIAN AGRI-FOOD SECTOR

In the past five years, Canada has negotiated and ratified three trade agreements: the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the multilateral free trade agreement now administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) . This paper focuses on the implications for agri-food trade of the NA FTA and its interface with the other two agreements. The provisions of the NAFTA are described and evaluated as they relate to market access , domestic support, export assistance, technical regulations and dispu te settlement. Observations are presented on the NAFTA's potential eff ects on trade in red meats, grains and oilseeds, supply-managed commod ities and horticulture. In addition, some of the shortcomings of the N AFTA are highlighted.