A NAFTA Customs Union
| Author | Daniel Schwanen |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200506000209 |
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Published date | 01 June 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Across the Border |
Daniel
Schwanen
A NAFTA
customs
union
Necessary
step
or
distraction?
INTRODUCTION
The
idea of a customs union between Canada, the United
States,
and
Mexico
is evoked with some regularity by North American business, politi-
cal,
and academic leaders and commentators. At the highest
level,
it is
Mexican
President
Vicente
Fox who has given
support
to that notion.
Furthermore, many Canadians, believing that the United States would be
more open in negotiations with Canada than with
Mexico,
tend to think
mostly
in terms of a bilateral Canada-US customs union. From a US per-
spective,
however, it would be difficult to ignore
Mexico's
likely desire to be
included in any negotiations with Canada.
A
customs union opens the flow of trade between its members to a
greater extent than does a free trade area. The latter removes customs
duties between member countries on products substantially originating
from
within the free trade area, but requires continued restrictions at inter-
nal borders to ensure that the appropriate duties are assessed on products
that do not meet this origins test. In a customs union, members agree to
maintain a single schedule of duties and
of
non-tariff
barriers against goods
from
third countries. Thus, with everyone maintaining the same trade policy
Daniel
Schwanen
is the
director
of
research
and
strategic planning
for the
Centre
for
International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Ontario.
I
International
Journal
|
Spring
2005
| 399 |
To continue reading
Request your trial