The countries in NAFTA work together within this trade agreement.
NAFTA, or the North American Trade Agreement, applies to all countries contained within North America, which is Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Their relevance to NAFTA is described below.
Canada
Canada was initially opposed to a North American Free Trade Agreement despite the fact that it was first to sign a trade agreement with the United States in 1988. Free trade was unpopular among Canadian politicians and Canada felt that it would render itself vulnerable to the shadow of the United States economy. Canada’s interest in circumventing any vulnerabilities resulting from a trade agreement between the United States and Mexico with the exclusion of Canada overrode any reluctance to engage in free trade, though, and Canada was cooperative when the agreement was first proposed by President Ronald Reagan.
The United States
As an idea born of the United States, NAFTA is probably most aligned with U.S. interests. In fact, NAFTA has oft been accused of an expansion of the U.S. economy rather than a merger between three economies. Nonetheless, many sanctions were offered to protect the interests of Mexico as well as Canada and little has been done by the U.S. government or U.S. organizations that have overtly affected either Canada or Mexico in any negative way.
Mexico
Reporting economic growth as well as lost wages and jobs, Mexico has generally considered NAFTA bittersweet. Accordingly, just as there are compendious complaints about NAFTA both from Mexican and United States politicians, there have been just as many benefits touted from the same origins. While employment has reduced in some sectors, employment has risen in others; while wages have lowered in some lower-income jobs, the GDP of Mexico overall has seen steady growth since the ratification of NAFTA. The overall consensus remains that NAFTA is a positive influence on North America overall, and thus remains in effect.