European union and North American Free Trade Agreement (nafta)
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America.
NAFTA came into effect on January 1, 1994 and superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement.
Within 10 years of the implementation of NAFTA, all U.S.-Mexico tariffs are to be eliminated except for some U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico which will be phased out within 15 years.
Most U.S. - Canada trade was duty free before NAFTA.
NAFTA also seeks to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers and to protect the intellectual property right of the products.
When viewing the combined GDP of its members, as of 2010 NAFTA is the largest trade bloc in the world.
In terms of combined GDP of its members, the trade bloc is the largest in the world as of 2010. NAFTA has two supplements: the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC). The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate barriers to trade and investment among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The implementation of NAFTA on January 1, 1994 brought the immediate elimination of tariffs on more than one-half of Mexico's exports to the U.S. and more than one-third of U.S. exports to Mexico. Within 10 years of the implementation of the agreement, all U.S.--Mexico tariffs would be eliminated except for some U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico that were to be phased out within 15 years. Most U.S.--Canada trade was already duty free. NAFTA also seeks to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers and to protect the intellectual property right of the products.
The agreement opened the door for open trade, ending tariffs on various goods and services, and implementing equality between Canada, America, and Mexico. NAFTA has allowed agricultural goods such as eggs, corn, and meats to be tariff-free. This allowed corporations to trade freely and import and export various goods on a North American scale .
Define ethics and explain how the domain of ethics relates to law and free choice.
Ethics is the code of moral principles and values that governs the behavior of people with respect to what is right or wrong. Ethics can be more clearly understood when compared with behaviors governed by laws and by free choice. Exhibit 5.1 illustrates that human behavior falls into 3 categories. The first is codified law, in which values and standards are written into the legal system and enforceable in the courts. In this area, lawmakers set rules that people and corporations must follow in a certain way. The domain of free choice is at the opposite end of the scale and pertains to behavior about which the law has no say and for which an individual or organization enjoys complete freedom. Between these domains lies the area of ethics. This domain has no specific laws, yet it does have standards of conducts base on shared principles and values about moral conduct that guide an individual or company. Many companies and individuals get into trouble with the simplified view that choices are governed by either law or free choice. It leads people to mistakenly assume that if it's not illegal, it must be ethical, as if this third domain didn't exist. A better option is to recognize the domain of ethics and accept moral values as a powerful force for good that can regulate behaviors both inside and outside corporations. As principles of ethics and social responsibility are more widely recognized, companies can use codes of ethics and their corporate cultures to govern behavior, thereby eliminating the need for additional laws and avoiding the problems of unfettered choice.
