title: North American free trade and the European situation compared.
abstract: The author analyzes and compares the trade situation in the European Community (EC) with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He finds that "while both the EC and NAFTA are designed to provide trade preferences to the member countries, the two groupings differ markedly in other respects.  The Treaty of Rome, establishing what is now the EC, consciously used economic means to foster political cohesion in Western Europe; whereas, the NAFTA negotiations seek free trade rather than more comprehensive economic integration precisely to minimize political content.  The EC contains many social provisions absent from the NAFTA discussions, the most important of which is the right of migration from one EC country to another." The effects of NAFTA on the economy of Mexico and on Mexican migration to the United States are also assessed.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weintraub
mesh_terms: D000569:Americas; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D003906:Developing Countries; D004467:Economics; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005060:Europe; D007391:International Cooperation; D007843:Latin America; D008800:Mexico; D009656:North America; D011057:Politics; D011153:Population; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011640:Public Policy; D012106:Research; D014481:United States
keywords: Americas; Comparative Studies; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Developing Countries; Economic Factors; Europe; International Cooperation; International Migration; Latin America; Mexico; Migration; North America; Northern America; Policy; Political Factors; Population; Population Dynamics; Research Methodology; Studies; United States