Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 2

Summary of Specific Negotiating Objectives for the Initiation of NAFTA Negotiations ............. 4

Trade in Goods:............................................................................................................................... 4

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS):.................................................................................. 5

Customs, Trade Facilitation, and Rules of Origin: ......................................................................... 5

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT): ................................................................................................ 6

Good Regulatory Practices: ............................................................................................................ 7

Trade in Services, Including Telecommunications and Financial Services: .................................. 7

Digital Trade in Goods and Services and Cross-Border Data Flows: ............................................ 8

Investment:...................................................................................................................................... 9

Intellectual Property:....................................................................................................................... 9

Transparency:................................................................................................................................ 10

State-Owned and Controlled Enterprises:..................................................................................... 11

Competition Policy: ...................................................................................................................... 11

Labor:............................................................................................................................................ 12

Environment:................................................................................................................................. 13

Anti-Corruption: ........................................................................................................................... 14

Trade Remedies: ........................................................................................................................... 14

Government Procurement:............................................................................................................ 15

Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: ........................................................................................ 16

Energy:.......................................................................................................................................... 16

Dispute Settlement:....................................................................................................................... 17

General Provisions:....................................................................................................................... 17

Currency:....................................................................................................................................... 17
2

Introduction

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force over 23 years ago, and 

since that time, the U.S. economy and global trading relationships have undergone substantial 

changes. 

The America that existed when NAFTA was signed is not the America that we see today. Some 

Americans have benefited from new market access provided by the Agreement. It contributed to 

the linking of the continent through trade, while at the same time NAFTA provided much needed 

market access for American farmers and ranchers. 

But NAFTA also created new problems for many American workers. Since the deal came into 

force in 1994, trade deficits have exploded, thousands of factories have closed, and millions of 

Americans have found themselves stranded, no longer able to utilize the skills for which they had 

been trained. For years, politicians promising to renegotiate the deal gave American workers 

hope that they would stop the bleeding. But none followed up. 

In June 2016, then-candidate Donald J. Trump made a promise to the American people: he 

would renegotiate NAFTA or take us out of the agreement. As President, he immediately started 

work to fulfill that promise. The first NAFTA consultations began just a few weeks after the 

President took office. 

On May 18th, President Trump became the first American president to begin renegotiating a 

comprehensive free trade agreement like NAFTA. At the direction of the President, and 

following more than three months of Administration consultations with Congress, U.S. Trade 

Representative Robert E. Lighthizer announced the Administration’s intention to renegotiate the 

deal. 

Since Ambassador Lighthizer notified Congress of the renegotiation, USTR has been conducting 

extensive consultations with Congress, stakeholders, and the public at large. President Trump is 

listening. 

The Trump Administration has held dozens of meetings to solicit advice and input. In addition, 

USTR sought public comments and received more than 12,000 responses. Finally, USTR held 

three days of public hearings on the negotiations and heard from more than 140 witnesses, who 

provided testimony on a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, services, 

and digital trade. During this process, the Administration received valuable advice which has 

directly impacted the development of the negotiating objectives.

Now, in accordance with section 105(a)(1)(D) of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities 

and Accountability Act of 2015, the Administration is providing this summary of specific 

objectives with respect to the NAFTA negotiations. These objectives reflect the valuable input 
3

received during the preceding consultation period from Congress, advisory committees, other 

agencies, and members of the public. USTR will continue to consult with Congress and 

stakeholders and we will update these objectives as we advance our work on these important 

negotiations.

Once negotiations begin, the Administration intends to ensure truly fair trade by seeking the 

highest standards covering the broadest possible range of goods and services. A successful 

renegotiation of NAFTA will further the negotiating objectives of the United States, as described 

in this document, and will benefit the economies and populations of the United States and of our 

trading partners. The result will be a much better agreement for Americans. 

The new NAFTA must continue to break down barriers to American exports. This includes the 

elimination of unfair subsidies, market-distorting practices by state owned enterprises, and 

burdensome restrictions of intellectual property. The new NAFTA will be modernized to reflect 

21st century standards and will reflect a fairer deal, addressing America’s persistent trade 

imbalances in North America. It will ensure that the United States obtains more open, equitable, 

secure, and reciprocal market access, and that our trade agreement with our two largest export 

markets is effectively implemented and enforced. 

Under these objectives, a new NAFTA will give our farmers, ranchers, service providers, and 

other businesses new opportunities to grow their exports and reclaim American prosperity. But 

most importantly, the new NAFTA will promote a market system that functions more efficiently, 

leading to reciprocal and balanced trade among the parties.

If we succeed in achieving these objectives — maintaining and improving market access for 

American agriculture, manufacturing, and services — then we look forward to a seamless 

transition to the new NAFTA.
4

Summary of Specific Negotiating Objectives for the 

Initiation of NAFTA Negotiations

Trade in Goods:

- Improve the U.S. trade balance and reduce the trade deficit with the NAFTA countries.

Industrial Goods

- Maintain existing reciprocal duty-free market access for industrial goods and strengthen 

disciplines to address non-tariff barriers that constrain U.S. exports to NAFTA countries.

- Maintain existing duty-free access to NAFTA country markets for U.S. textile and apparel 

products and seek to improve competitive opportunities for exports of U.S. textile and 

apparel products while taking into account U.S. import sensitivities. 

- Promote greater regulatory compatibility with respect to key goods sectors to reduce burdens 

associated with unnecessary differences in regulation, including through regulatory 

cooperation where appropriate.

Agricultural Goods

- Maintain existing reciprocal duty-free market access for agricultural goods.

- Expand competitive market opportunities for U.S. agricultural goods in NAFTA countries, 

substantially equivalent to the competitive opportunities afforded foreign exports into the 

U.S. market, by reducing or eliminating remaining tariffs.

- Seek to eliminate non-tariff barriers to U.S. agricultural exports including discriminatory 

barriers, restrictive administration of tariff rate quotas, other unjustified measures that 

unfairly limit access to markets for U.S. goods, such as cross subsidization, price 

discrimination, and price undercutting.

- Provide reasonable adjustment periods for U. S. import sensitive agricultural products, 

engaging in close consultation with Congress on such products before initiating tariff 

reduction negotiations.

- Promote greater regulatory compatibility to reduce burdens associated with unnecessary 

differences in regulation, including through regulatory cooperation where appropriate.
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Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS):

- Provide for enforceable SPS obligations that build upon WTO rights and obligations, 

including with respect to science based measures, good regulatory practice, import checks, 

equivalence, and regionalization, making clear that each country can set for itself the level of 

protection it believes to be appropriate to protect food safety, and plant and animal health in a 

manner consistent with its international obligations.

- Establish a mechanism to resolve expeditiously unwarranted barriers that block the export of 

U.S. food and agricultural products.

- Establish new and enforceable rules to ensure that science-based SPS measures are 

developed and implemented in a transparent, predictable, and non-discriminatory manner.

- Improve communication, consultation, and cooperation between governments to share 

information and work together on SPS issues in a transparent manner, including on new 

technologies.

- Provide for a mechanism for improved dialogue and cooperation to address SPS issues and 

facilitate trade where appropriate and possible.

Customs, Trade Facilitation, and Rules of Origin:

Customs and Trade Facilitation:

- Build on and set high standards for implementation of WTO agreements involving trade 

facilitation and customs valuation. 

- Increase transparency by ensuring that all customs laws, regulations, and procedures are 

published on the Internet as well as designating points of contact for questions from traders.

- Ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, shipments are released immediately after 

determining compliance with applicable laws and regulations and provide for new disciplines 

on timing of release, automation, and use of guarantees.

- Provide for streamlined and expedited customs treatment for express delivery shipments, 

including for shipments above any de minimis threshold. Provide for a de minimis shipment 

value comparable to the U.S. de minimis shipment value of $800.

- Ensure that NAFTA countries administer customs penalties in an impartial and transparent 

manner, and avoid conflicts of interest in the administration of penalties. 
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- Provide for automation of import, export, and transit processes, including through supply 

chain integration; reduced import, export, and transit forms, documents, and formalities; 

enhanced harmonization of customs data requirements; and advance rulings regarding the 

treatment that will be provided to a good at the time of importation. 

- Provide for both administrative and judicial appeal of customs decisions. 

- Provide for electronic payment of duties, taxes, fees, and charges imposed on or in 

connection with importation or exportation. 

- Provide for the use of risk management systems for customs control and post-clearance audit

procedures to ensure compliance with customs and related laws. 

- Provide for disciplines on the use of customs brokers, preshipment inspection, and the use of 

reusable containers. 

- Establish a committee for Parties to share information and cooperate on trade priorities with a 

view to resolving inconsistent treatment of commercial goods.

Rules of Origin:

- Update and strengthen the rules of origin, as necessary, to ensure that the benefits of NAFTA 

go to products genuinely made in the United States and North America. 

- Ensure the rules of origin incentivize the sourcing of goods and materials from the United 

States and North America.

- Establish origin procedures that streamline the certification and verification of rules of origin 

and that promote strong enforcement, including with respect to textiles.

- Promote cooperation with NAFTA countries to ensure that goods that meet the rules of origin 

receive NAFTA benefits, prevent duty evasion, and combat customs offences.

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT):

- Require NAFTA countries to apply decisions and recommendations adopted by the WTO 

TBT Committee that apply, inter alia, to standards, conformity assessment, transparency, and 

other areas. 

- Include strong provisions on transparency and public consultation that require the NAFTA 

countries to publish drafts of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, 

allow stakeholders in other countries to provide comments on those drafts, and require 
7

authorities to address significant issues raised by stakeholders and explain how the final 

measure achieves the stated objectives.

- Ensure national treatment of conformity assessment bodies without conditions or limitations 

and encourage the use of international conformity assessment recognition arrangements to 

facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results.

- Establish an active TBT Chapter Committee that will discuss bilateral and third party specific 

trade concerns, coordination of regional and multilateral activities, regulatory cooperation, 

and implementing Good Regulatory Practices.

Good Regulatory Practices:

- Obtain commitments that can facilitate market access and promote greater compatibility 

among U.S., Canadian, and Mexican regulations, including by:

 Ensuring transparency and accountability in the development, implementation, and 

review of regulations, including by publication of proposed regulations;

 Providing meaningful opportunities for public comment in the development of 

regulations;

 Promoting the use of impact assessments and other methods of ensuring regulations are 

evidence-based and current, as well as avoiding unnecessary redundancies; and 

 Applying other good regulatory practices.

Trade in Services, Including Telecommunications and Financial Services: 

Trade in Services:

- Secure commitments from NAFTA countries to provide fair and open conditions for services 

trade, including through:

 Rules that apply to all services sectors, including rules that prohibit:

○ Discrimination against foreign services suppliers;

○ Restrictions on the number of services suppliers in the market; and
8

○ Requirements that cross-border services suppliers first establish a local presence, 

 Specialized sectoral disciplines, including rules to help level the playing field for U.S. 

delivery services suppliers in the NAFTA countries; and 

 Where any exceptions from core disciplines are needed, the negotiation, on a negative list 

basis, of the narrowest possible exceptions with the least possible impact on U.S. firms.

- Improve the transparency and predictability of the regulatory procedures in the NAFTA 

countries.

Telecommunications:

- Promote competitive supply of telecommunications services by facilitating market entry 

through transparent regulation and an independent regulator.

- Secure commitments to provide reasonable network access for telecommunications suppliers 

through interconnection and access to physical facilities and scarce resources.

- Establish provisions protecting telecommunications services suppliers' choice of technology.

Financial Services: 

- Expand competitive market opportunities for United States financial service suppliers to 

obtain fairer and more open conditions of financial services trade.

- Improve transparency and predictability in their respective financial services regulatory 

procedures. 

- Ensure that the NAFTA countries refrain from imposing measures in the financial services 

sector that restrict cross-border data flows or that require the use or installation of local 

computing facilities.

Digital Trade in Goods and Services and Cross-Border Data Flows:

- Secure commitments not to impose customs duties on digital products (e.g., software, music, 

video, e-books).

- Ensure non-discriminatory treatment of digital products transmitted electronically and 

guarantee that these products will not face government-sanctioned discrimination based on 

the nationality or territory in which the product is produced.
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- Establish rules to ensure that NAFTA countries do not impose measures that restrict crossborder data flows and do not require the use or installation of local computing facilities.

- Establish rules to prevent governments from mandating the disclosure of computer source 

code.

Investment: 

- Establish rules that reduce or eliminate barriers to U.S. investment in all sectors in the 

NAFTA countries. 

- Secure for U.S. investors in the NAFTA countries important rights consistent with U.S. legal 

principles and practice, while ensuring that NAFTA country investors in the United States 

are not accorded greater substantive rights than domestic investors. 

Intellectual Property: 

- Promote adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights, including through 

the following:

 Ensure accelerated and full implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related 

Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), particularly with respect to meeting 

enforcement obligations under TRIPS.

 Ensure provisions governing intellectual property rights reflect a standard of protection 

similar to that found in U.S. law. 

 Provide strong protection and enforcement for new and emerging technologies and new 

methods of transmitting and distributing products embodying intellectual property, 

including in a manner that facilitates legitimate digital trade. 

 Prevent or eliminate discrimination with respect to matters affecting the availability, 

acquisition, scope, maintenance, use, and enforcement of intellectual property rights. 

 Ensure standards of protection and enforcement that keep pace with technological 

developments, and in particular ensure that rightholders have the legal and technological 

means to control the use of their works through the Internet and other global 

communication media, and to prevent the unauthorized use of their works. 
10

 Provide strong standards enforcement of intellectual property rights, including by 

requiring accessible, expeditious, and effective civil, administrative, and criminal 

enforcement mechanisms. 

 Prevent or eliminate government involvement in the violation of intellectual property 

rights, including cybertheft and piracy. 

- Secure fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory market access opportunities for United States 

persons that rely upon intellectual property protection. 

- Respect the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, adopted by the World 

Trade Organization at the Fourth Ministerial Conference at Doha, Qatar on November 14, 

2001, and to ensure that trade agreements foster innovation and promote access to medicines.

- Prevent the undermining of market access for U.S. products through the improper use of a 

country’s system for protecting or recognizing geographical indications, including failing to 

ensure transparency and procedural fairness and protecting generic terms.

Transparency: 

- Commit each Party to provide levels of transparency, participation, and accountability in the 

development of regulations and other government decisions that are comparable to those 

under U.S. law with respect to federal statutes and regulations. In particular, seek 

commitments:

 To promptly publish laws, regulations, administrative rulings of general application, and 

other procedures that affect trade and investment;

 To provide adequate opportunities for stakeholder comment on measures before they are 

adopted and finalized; and

 To provide a sufficient period of time between final publication of measures and their 

entry into force.

- Seek standards to ensure that government regulatory reimbursement regimes are transparent, 

provide procedural fairness, are nondiscriminatory, and provide full market access for United 

States products.
11

State-Owned and Controlled Enterprises:

- Define SOEs on the basis of government ownership or government control through 

ownership interests, including situations of control through minority shareholding. 

- Retain the ability to support SOEs engaged in providing domestic public services. 

- Ensure that SOEs accord non-discriminatory treatment with respect to purchase and sale of 

goods and services. 

- Ensure that SOEs act in accordance with commercial considerations with respect to such 

purchases and sales. 

- Ensure that strong subsidy disciplines apply to SOEs, beyond the disciplines set out in the 

WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement).

- Require that SOEs not cause harm to another Party through provision of subsidies. 

- Require that SOEs not cause harm to the domestic industry of another Party via subsidized 

SOE investment. 

- Ensure impartial regulation of SOEs, designated monopolies, and private companies.

- Provide jurisdiction to courts over the commercial activities of foreign SOEs (i.e., limited 

sovereign immunity). 

- Allow Parties to request information related to the level of government ownership and 

control of a given enterprise, and the extent of government support. 

- Develop fact-finding mechanism based on Annex 5 of the WTO SCM Agreement to help 

overcome the evidentiary problems associated with litigation on SOEs. 

Competition Policy:

- Maintain rules that prohibit anticompetitive business conduct, as well as fraudulent and 

deceptive commercial activities that harm consumers.

- Establish or affirm basic rules for procedural fairness on competition law enforcement.

- Promote cooperation on competition enforcement-related matters.
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Labor:

- Bring the labor provisions into the core of the Agreement rather than in a side agreement.

- Require NAFTA countries to adopt and maintain in their laws and practices the 

internationally recognized core labor standards as recognized in the ILO Declaration, 

including:

 Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

 Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor;

 Effective abolition of child labor and a prohibition on the worst forms of child labor; and

 Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

- Require NAFTA countries to have laws governing acceptable conditions of work with 

respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health.

- Establish rules that will ensure that NAFTA countries do not waive or derogate from their 

labor laws implementing internationally recognized core labor standards in a manner 

affecting trade or investment between the parties.

- Establish rules that will ensure that NAFTA countries do not fail to effectively enforce their 

labor laws implementing internationally recognized core labor standards and acceptable 

conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety 

and health laws through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, in a manner 

affecting trade or investment between the parties.

- Require that NAFTA countries take initiatives to prohibit trade in goods produced by forced 

labor, regardless of whether the source country is a NAFTA country.

- Provide access to fair, equitable, and transparent administrative and judicial proceedings.

- Ensure that these labor obligations are subject to the same dispute settlement mechanism that 

applies to other enforceable obligations of the Agreement.

- Establish a means for stakeholder participation, including through public advisory 

committees, as well as a process for the public to raise concerns directly with NAFTA 

governments if they believe a NAFTA country is not meeting its labor commitments.
13

- Establish or maintain a senior-level Labor Committee, which will meet regularly to oversee 

implementation of labor commitments, and include a mechanism for cooperation and 

coordination on labor issues, including opportunities for stakeholder input in identifying 

areas of cooperation.

Environment:

- Bring the environment provisions into the core of the Agreement rather than in a side 

agreement.

- Establish strong and enforceable environment obligations that are subject to the same dispute 

settlement mechanism that applies to other enforceable obligations of the Agreement.

- Establish rules that will ensure that NAFTA countries do not waive or derogate from the 

protections afforded in their environmental laws for the purpose of encouraging trade or 

investment. 

- Establish rules that will ensure that NAFTA countries do not fail to effectively enforce their 

environment laws through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, in a manner 

affecting trade or investment between the parties.

- Require NAFTA countries to adopt and maintain measures implementing their obligations 

under select Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) to which the NAFTA countries 

are full parties, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 

Wild Fauna and Flora.

- Establish a means for stakeholder participation, including commitments for public advisory 

committees, and a process for the public to raise concerns directly with its government if they 

believe it is not meeting its environment commitments.

- Require NAFTA countries to ensure access to fair, equitable and transparent administrative 

and judicial proceedings for enforcing their environmental laws, and provide appropriate 

sanctions or remedies for violations of their environmental laws.

- Provide for a framework for conducting, reviewing, and evaluating cooperative activities that 

support implementation of the environment commitments, and for public participation in 

these activities.

- Establish or maintain a senior-level Environment Committee, which will meet regularly to 

oversee implementation of environment commitments, with opportunities for public 

participation in the process.
14

- Combat illegal fishing, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) including by implementing port 

state measures and supporting increased monitoring and surveillance.

- Establish rules to prohibit harmful fisheries subsidies, such as those that contribute to 

overfishing and IUU fishing, and pursue transparency in fisheries subsidies programs.

- Promote sustainable fisheries management and long-term conservation of marine species, 

including sharks, sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals.

- Protect and conserve flora and fauna and ecosystems, including through action by countries 

to combat wildlife and timber trafficking.

Anti-Corruption: 

- Secure provisions committing each Party to criminalize government corruption, to take steps 

to discourage corruption, and to provide adequate penalties and enforcement tools in the 

event of prosecution of persons suspected of engaging in corrupt activities. In particular by:

 Requiring the adoption or maintenance of requirements for companies to maintain 

accurate books and records, which facilitate the detection and tracing of corrupt 

payments;

 Encouraging the establishment codes of conduct to encourage high ethical standards 

among public officials; and

 Requiring parties to disallow the deduction of corrupt payments for income tax purposes. 

Trade Remedies: 

- Preserve the ability of the United States to enforce rigorously its trade laws, including the 

antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguard laws. 

- Eliminate the NAFTA global safeguard exclusion so that it does not restrict the ability of the 

United States to apply measures in future investigations.

- Eliminate the Chapter 19 dispute settlement mechanism.

- Seek a separate domestic industry provision for perishable and seasonal products in AD/CVD 

proceedings.
15

- Exclude state-owned enterprises as part of the domestic industry in AD/CVD proceedings.

- Facilitate the ability to impose measures based on third country dumping.

- Promote cooperation among the trade remedies administrators of the NAFTA countries, 

particularly with regards to the sharing of information that would improve the ability of 

administrators to effectively monitor and address trade remedies violations, such as through 

self-initiation.

- Strengthen existing procedures and create new procedures to address AD/CVD duty evasion, 

including the ability to conduct AD/CVD verification visits.

- Establish transparency and due process obligations reflected in U.S. AD/CVD laws, 

regulations, and practice.

- Establish an early warning import monitoring system for agreed sensitive products from nonNAFTA countries.

Government Procurement:

- Increase opportunities for U.S. firms to sell U.S. products and services into the NAFTA 

countries.

- Establish fair, transparent, predictable, and non-discriminatory rules to govern government 

procurement in the NAFTA countries, including rules mirroring existing U.S. government 

procurement practices such as:

 Publishing information on government procurement opportunities in a timely manner;

 Ensuring sufficient time for suppliers to obtain tender documentation and submit bids;

 Ensuring that procurement will be handled under fair procedures;

 Ensuring that contracts will be awarded based solely on the evaluation criteria specified 

in the notices and tender documentation; and 

 Providing impartial administrative or judicial review authority to review challenges or 

complaints.
16

- Exclude sub-federal coverage (state and local governments) from the commitments being 

negotiated. Keep in place domestic preferential purchasing programs such as:

 Preference programs for small businesses, women and minority owned businesses (which 

includes Native Americans), service-disabled veterans, and distressed areas;

 “Buy America” requirements on Federal assistance to state and local projects, 

transportation services, food assistance, and farm support; and

 Key Department of Defense procurement.

- Maintain broad exceptions for government procurement regarding:

 National security;

 Measures necessary to protect public morals, order, or safety;

 Protecting human, animal, or plant life or health; and

 Protecting intellectual property.

- Maintain ability to provide for labor, environmental, and other criteria to be included in 

contracting requirements.

Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises:

- Secure commitment by NAFTA countries to provide information resources to help small 

businesses navigate FTA requirements for exporting to the NAFTA markets. 

- Cooperate on SME issues of mutual interest.

- Establish an SME Committee to ensure that the needs of SMEs are considered as the 

Agreement is implemented in order for SMEs to benefit from new commercial opportunities.

Energy:

- Preserve and strengthen investment, market access, and state-owned enterprise disciplines 

benefitting energy production and transmission and support North American energy security 

and independence, while promoting continuing energy market-opening reforms.
17

Dispute Settlement: 

- Encourage the early identification and settlement of disputes through consultation and other 

mechanisms. 

- Establish a dispute settlement mechanism that is effective, timely, and in which panel 

determinations are based on the provisions of the Agreement and the submissions of the 

parties and are provided in a reasoned manner.

- Establish a dispute settlement process that is transparent by: 

 Requiring that parties’ submissions be made publicly available;

 Requiring that hearings be open to the public; 

 Requiring that final determinations by a panel be made publicly available; and

 Ensuring that non-governmental entities have the right to request making written 

submissions to a panel. 

- Have provisions that encourage compliance with the obligations of the Agreement.

General Provisions:

- Include general exceptions that allow for the protection of legitimate U.S. domestic 

objectives, including the protection of health or safety and essential security, among others.

Currency:

- Through an appropriate mechanism, ensure that the NAFTA countries avoid manipulating 

exchange rates in order to prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or to gain an 

unfair competitive advantage.