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Library

NAFTA Research


This is a guide to NAFTA research materials in the NYU Law Library and on the Internet.

  1. Agreements
  2. Dispute settlement
  3. Institutions
  4. Research guides
  5. News, background and selected books
  6. Journal articles
  7. Terminology

THE AGREEMENTS, LEGISLATIVE HISTORY and IMPLEMENTATION

  1. NAFTA text
  2. U.S. implementation
  3. U.S. legislative history
  4. Canada
  5. Mexico

The North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") was signed on December 17, 1992. The U.S. signed the environmental and labor side agreements on September 14,1993. The NAFTA entered into force on January 1, 1994, and suspended the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement ("CFTA," 27 I.L.M. 281 (1988), in force 1989). The U.S. and Canada implemented the NAFTA through domestic legislation. It became law in Mexico as an international treaty.

The Making of NAFTA: How the Deal was Done. Maxwell A. Cameron. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000.
B1   HF1746 .C33 2000

Text of the NAFTA and side agreements, as signed

32 I.L.M. 289 and 605 (1993)
32 I.L.M. 1480 (1993) (environmental side agreement)
32 I.L.M. 1499 (1993) (labor side agreement)
32 I.L.M. 1519 (1993) (emergency measures)
32 I.L.M. 1547 (1993) (border environment cooperation)
Compact Shelves  JX27 A5 I5

Text on NAFTA Secretariat website <www.nafta-sec-alena.org/DefaultSite/index_e.aspx?DetailID=78>

North American Free Trade Agreements: Treaties. Compiled and edited by Kenneth R. Simmonds and Donald J. Musch. (Law and Practice under the GATT and Other Trading Arrangements.) New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1992-. The Treaties binders reprint selected documents in separately numbered pamphlets. Use the Table of Contents in the front of each volume to locate documents by pamphlet number. Includes the NAFTA, the Canadian Implementation Act, NAFTA rules, selected Mexican laws, the FTA agreement, etc. The Commentary binders include general and country-specific commentaries, a selected bibliography and a list of U.S. Federal Register materials. See also Dispute Settlement.
Reserve KDZ944 .A41992 L39

U.S. Implementation of the NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Pub. L. No. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057 (1993); 19 U.S.C. 3301 et seq. and other sections listed in the "Short Title" note and in the U.S.C.A. Tables under Pub. L. No. 103-182.

North American Free Trade Agreement, Texts of Agreement,
Implementing Bill, Statement of Administrative Action, and
Required Supporting Statements: Message from the
President of the United States Transmitting North American Free
Trade Agreement, Texts of Agreement, Implementing Bill,
Statement of Administrative Action and Required Supporting
Statements. House Document 103-159. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1993-.
Media Center Microfiche CIS 93 H780-16 and CIS 93 H780-17

North American Free Trade Agreement, Supplemental Agreements and
Additional Documents: Message from the President of the United States Transmitting North American Free Trade Agreement, Supplemental Agreements, and Additional Documents. House Document 103-160. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1993.
Media Center Microfiche CIS 93 H780-18.

Proposed and final regulations are published in the Federal Register:

  •       Paper: recent years only: B2 South NYUL KA-A4
  •       Microfiche: 1936-  Media Center
  •       full-text searchable in
          WESTLAW, July 1980-  (FR)
          LexisNexis, July 1980-  (GENFED;FEDREG)
          GPO Access 1994-  <www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html>
  •       PDF  HeinOnline, from 1938-1988

Regulations in force are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations:

  •       Paper: recent years only:
          Brown Atrium and Furman Hall NYUL KA-A 41.
  •       Microfiche: 1939-  Media Center
  •       full-text searchable in
          WESTLAW, July 1980-  (CFR)
          LexisNexis, July 1980-  (GENFED;CFR)
          GPO Access, April, 1996-  <www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html>

U.S. Legislative History

Reams, Bernard D. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) : Documents and Materials Including a Legislative History of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Public Law 103-182.
Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein, 1994. 29 vols plus 1996 and 2002 supplements. Reprints congressional reports, documents, etc. and assigns a number to each publication. Volume 1 has introductory materials, an overview of the fast track procedure and a chronological list of the publications in the set. The 2000 supplement has a numerical list.
B2 North   KDZ944.A41992 R43 1994

Bilateral Free Trade Agreements. Ed. William H. Manz. Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein & Co., 2007. 5 v. U.S. legislative history materials on free trade agreements with Israel, West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Chile, and Singapore.
B1   KF6665 .B55 2007

Canadian Implementation of the NAFTA

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada <www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/index.aspx?lang=en>

North American Free Trade Implementation Act of June 23, 1993 (Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, Loi portant mise en oeuvre de l'), ch. 44, 1991-92-93 Statutes of Canada. In Acts of the Parliament of Canada, 41-42 Eliz. II, vol. III,  B2 North  KE87 .A23
Entered into force January 1, 1994, pursuant to Order-in-Council P.C. 1993-2183.

Castel, J.-G. The Canadian Law and Practice of International Trade, with Particular Emphasis on Export and Import of Goods and Services. 2d ed. Toronto: Emond Montgomery Pubs, Ltd., 1997.
Reserve  KE1940 .C37 1997

The Law Library has an extensive collection of Canadian legal materials in print. Consult the

Julius catalog of the Law Library <julius.law.nyu.edu> or ask for assistance at the Reference Desk. See also

Mexico
Ministry of the Economy Trade Negotiations <www.economia.gob.mx/?P=863>

El Tratado de Libre Comercio en America del Norte, Executive Decree of December 14, 1993, Diario Oficial, December 20, 1993. Abbreviated "TLCAN" or "TLC."

Mexican Commercial Code, 1996. [St. Paul, Minn.]: West Pub., 1996.
Texts of code in Spanish and English on opposite pages.
Reserve  KGF1054 .31889 A52x 1996

Mexican Law: A Treatise for Legal Practitioners and International Investors.
St. Paul, Minn.: West Group, 1998. 4 vols.
Reserve  KGF1059 .M49x 1998

Mexican Tax, Customs and Foreign Investment Laws. Chicago, IL: CCH Inc., 1994-. Loose-leaf. English translations of laws, regulations and decrees.
Reserve  KGF4589 .M39x 1994

Cavazos Flores, Baltasar. Hacia un nuevo derecho laboral: estudio comparativo entre la legislacion laboral de E. U. y Canada y el derecho laboral Mexicano. 3. ed. Mexico: Editorial Trillas, 1994.
B2 North  KDZ432 .C38x 1997

The Law Library has a limited collection of materials in print related to the laws of Mexico. Consult the

Julius catalog of the Law Library <julius.law.nyu.edu> or ask for assistance at the Reference Desk. See also

National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade <www.natlaw.com/index.htm>  The Center's Inter-American Database contains selected English translations of Mexican laws, but it requires a password. Please go to the Reference Desk for assistance.

DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

NAFTA Secretariat <www.nafta-sec-alena.org>Dispute Settlement

  •       Rules of Procedures
  •       Code of Conduct
  •       Procedural Forms
  •       Status report on panel proceedings
  •       Roster of panels
  •       Panel decisions and reports (Chapters 18, 19 and 20 only)

Decisions and documents:

NAFTA Secretariat <www.nafta-sec-alena.org>Dispute Settlement>Panel
decisions and reports (Chapters 18, 19 and 20 only)

WorldTradeLaw.net  <www.worldtradelaw.net>
The free part of this website provides searchable full texts of the WTO and NAFTA agreements, GATT panel reports, WTO panel and appellate reports and arbitration decisions ("WTO disputes"), and NAFTA Chapters 19 and 20 decisions and other NAFTA decisions, but not Chapter 11. Paid subscribers also have access to the editors' WTO Dispute Settlement Commentaries, Subject-Matter Pages that list WTO disputes and GATT reports by major topics, and a systematic subject digest of WTO disputes (WTO Case-Law Index).

NAFTA Secretariat <www.nafta-sec-alena.org>Dispute Settlement.
Decisions under NAFTA Chapter 19 (binational panel review of domestic decisions on countervailing duties and anti-dumping) and 20 (general disputes under NAFTA rules) and FTA chapter 18 and 19:

See also the Oceana looseleaf North American Free Trade Agreements: Decisions, and the Cameron May looseleaf NAFTA Arbitration Reports, both described below under Chapter 11.

WESTLAW (NAFTA-BIP)
Decisions from the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement Binational Panel, January 1989-April 1994, and the North American Free Trade Agreement Binational Panel, April 1994-current.

LexisNexis (ITRADE;NAFDEC)
North American Free Trade Agreement Panel Review Decisions pursuant to
Chapter 19 of NAFTA, April 1995-current.

LexisNexis (ITRADE;USCFTA)
Decisions of the United States/Canada Free Trade Agreement Panel under Chapter 19 and the Commission under Chapter 18, October 13, 1989, through February 13, 1995, then use NAFDEC.

International Trade Reporter. Washington, D.C.: BNA, 1984-.
The weekly Current Reports binder follows federal and state court and administrative agency proceedings on U.S. import law and related issues. The Decisions binder reprints the full text of significant decisions and is later cumulated in bound volumes with an index, a digest and a table of cases.
Current Reports  KF1975 .A6 I5x (unbound issues B2 South, bound volumes in B1) Library has volumes 7-20 (1990-2003) only.
Decisions  KF1975.A8 I58x (current binder B2 South, bound volumes in B1)

International Investment Law and Arbitration: Leading Cases from the ICSID, NAFTA, Bilateral Treaties and Customary International Law. Ed. Todd Weiler. London: Cameron May, 2005 B1 K3830 .I58 2005

Chapter 11 (investor-state disputes under NAFTA, UNCITRAL and ICSID arbitration rules). It may be necessary to consult multiple sources to find all the Chapter 11 awards at various stages, decisions on preliminary questions and related materials.

  • Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada <www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/disp-diff/nafta.aspx?lang=en>
  • U.S. Dept. of State Office of the Assistant Legal Advisor for International Claims and Investment Disputes: NAFTA Investor-State Arbitrations (menu for cases on the left) < www.state.gov/s/l/c3439.htm >
  • Mexican Ministry of the Economy <www.economia.gob.mx/ >Central Sector>Trade Negotiations>Dispute Settlement
  • NAFTA Arbitration Reports. J.C. Thomas and J.C. Mowatt. London : Cameron May, 2002-. This looseleaf reprints the investor-State arbitrations conducted under Chapter 11 and State-to-State panel proceedings conducted under NAFTA Chapter 20. Each is preceded by a commentary by the editors.
    B2 North  KDZ944.A53 N34    Also on cd-rom at Circulation.
  • NAFTA Chapter Eleven Reports: Volume I, Primary Materials. Coe, Dodge and Brower.  The Hague, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law Internationa; Frederick, MD, USA: Sold and distributed in North, Central, and South America by Aspen Publishers, 2006-. This set will eventually contain full-text awards and important decisions under Chapter 11.
    B2North  KDZ944.A41992 A12 2006
  • North American Free Trade Agreements: Treaties. Compiled and edited by Kenneth R. Simmonds and Donald J. Musch. (Law and Practice under the GATT and Other Trading Arrangements). New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1992-. The Decision binder reprints binational panel decisions. Following the Table of Contents are lists of the decisions by product; the U.S., Canadian and Mexican agency determinations reviewed; and the Chapter 20 proceedings. Binder 1 of the Commentary volumes reprints selected documents (orders, awards, etc.) from the Chapter 11 disputes on investment and financial services. A separate volume, Chapter 11: Investor-State Arbitration, started in 2007, will contain full texts of "all final awards and important arbitrary decisions," along with case summaries and commentary.
    Reserve  KDZ944.A41992 L39
  • Investor-State Arbitration. Dugan, Wallace, and Rubins. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications. ON ORDER. Forthcoming 2008.


INSTITUTIONS

The NAFTA created a Free Trade Commission to supervise the implementation of the NAFTA, oversee its further application, decide disputes about its interpretation, and supervise all committees, working groups and other delegated bodies. The FTC is comprised of cabinet-level representatives of the three parties, or their designees.

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (U.S.T.R.) <www.ustr.gov>
Other relevant sites: U.S. International Trade Commission <www.usitc.gov>
U.S. International Trade Administration <www.ita.doc.gov/>

Canadian Minister of International Trade, Department of Foreign Affairs and international Trade <www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/>

Mexican Ministry of the Economy <www.economia.gob.mx/>


NAFTA Secretariat <www.nafta-sec-alena.org>
The FTC oversees the NAFTA Secretariat which is comprised of the Canadian, U.S. and Mexican Sections. It is responsible for the administration of the dispute settlement provisions of the Agreement under Chapters 14, 19 and 20, and has certain responsibilities related to Chapter 11. It also provides assistance to the Commission and support for various non-dispute related committees and working groups.

The national section offices have websites accessible via:
NAFTA Secretariat <www.nafta-sec-alena.org> National sections
>Canadian Section
>Seccion Mexicana
>U.S. Section Export.gov, including Trade Information Center <www.export.gov/exportbasics/ticredirect.asp>Free Trade Agreements >NAFTA


RESEARCH GUIDES
The following guides provide extensive lists of links to U.S. government websites, websites for trade law generally and web resources for other regional arrangements such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), MERCOSUR, and the Organization of American States (OAS).

NEWS, BACKGROUND and SELECTED BOOKS

World Trade Online >World Trade Online (click on "password required" and note the password before you access the database). A weekly report on major government and industry trade action in the U.S. and around the world. The online site also includes a searchable archive of Inside U.S. Trade, which the library also receives in paper (B2 South HF3000 .I57 latest year only); a collection of statements, reports and speeches; and special reports.

International Trade Daily  Washington, DC.: BNA.

International Trade Reporter. Washington, D.C.: BNA, 1984-.
The weekly Current Reports binder follows developments affecting the trade and international business policies of the U.S. and major U.S. trading partners. Covers laws, regulations, court decisions, treaties, customs arrangements, briefings by key government and industry officials, international business conferences, and new publications and studies. Also reprints the text of selected documents.   See also Dispute Settlement.
B1  KF1975 .A6 I5x

Created from NAFTA: The Structure, Function, and Significance of the Treaty's Related Institutions. Joseph A. McKinney. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2000.
B2 North  KDZ945 .A41992 M37 2000

Encyclopedia of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the New American Community, and Latin-American Trade. Jerry Martin Rosenberg. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1995.
Reserve  HC94 .R668 1995

The Greening of Trade Law: International Trade Organizations and
Environmental Issues. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.
B1  K3943 .G74 2002

Integration & Trade.  Buenos Aires, Argentina: The Institute, 1997-.
B1 (unbound issues in B2 South) HC125 .I454213

Inter-American Trade Report. Tucson, AZ: National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, 1997-. News of developments, plus summaries of selected new laws and regulations.
Latest year only  B2 North KDZ836 .A13 I61x
See librarian for online access.

International Economic Law. Andreas F. Lowenfeld. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
B1 & Circ Desk  K3820 .L69 2002

International Environment Reporter. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1978-. The biweekly Current Reports binder covers news of proposed and new laws and regulations, industry and government action and dispute settlement. Each issue lists websites for more information and copies of documents. Indexed by subject and speaker and author names. The Reference File binders cover OECD, UN, EU countries, Canada, Japan, U.S., Mexico, etc., and reprint selected treaties and agreements, laws, regulations and standards. It also contains profiles of the environmental situation in selected countries.
Reserve & B1  K3585.4 .I57

International Trade in Financial Services: The NAFTA Provisions. Krista  Nadakavukaren Schefer. The Hague; Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1999.
B2 North KDZ260 .N33 1999

Law and Policy of Regional Integration: the NAFTA and Western Hemispheric Integration in the World Trade Organization System. Frederick M. Abbott.  (NAFTA Law and Policy Series, v. 1.) Dordrecht; Boston: M. Nijhoff Publishers; Norwell, MA: Distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada by Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995.
Circ Desk  KDZ944.A41992 N34x v.1
 
Legal Problems of International Economic Relations: Cases, Materials, and Text on the National and International Regulation of Transnational Economic Relations. John Howard Jackson. 4th ed. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group, 2002.
Circ Desk   K3943 .J33 2002

NAFTA and Beyond: A New Framework for Doing Business in the Americas. Joseph Jude Norton, et al., eds. Dordrecht; Boston: M. Nijhoff, 1995.
Reserve  KDZ944.A41992 N34x 1995

NAFTA: A Problem-Oriented Coursebook. Ralph Haughwout Folsom, et al. St. Paul, Minn.: West Group, 2000.
B1 & Circ Desk  KDZ944.A65 F65x 2000

NAFTA and Free Trade in the Americas: in a Nutshell. Ralph H. Folsom. St. Paul, Minn: Thomson/West, 2004.
Reserve  KDZ944 .A41992 F64 2004

NAFTA Investment Law and Arbitration: Past Issues, Current
Practice, Future Prospects. Ed. Todd Weiler. Ardsley, N.Y.: Transnational Publishers, 2004.
B2 North  KDZ744 .N35 2004

NAFTA Revisited: Achievements and Challenges. Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Jeffrey J. Schott; assisted by Paul L.E. Grieco and Yee Wong. Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 2005.
B1  HF1746 .H84 2005

North American Free Trade and Investment Report. Concord, MA: WorldTrade Executive, Inc. 1995-. Biweekly report on legal and financial issues affecting direct investment and cross-border trade in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
B1 & Reserve  HF1746 .N677x

Reconciling Environment and Trade. Eds. Edith Brown Weiss and John Howard Jackson. Ardsley, N.Y.: Transnational Publishers, 2001.
B1  K3943 .R43 2001

The Regulation of International Trade. 2d ed. Michael J. Trebilcock and Robert Howse. London; New York: Routledge, 1999.
Reserve, Circ Desk and B1  K3943 .T72 1998

Understanding NAFTA and Its International Business Implications. Ralph Haughwout Folsom. [New York]: M. Bender/Irwin, 1997.
B2 North  KDZ944.A41992 F65 1997

TO FIND OTHER MATERIALS

  • Julius catalog of the Law Library <julius.law.nyu.edu>
  • Bobcat catalog of the NYU Bobst Library <www.bobcat.nyu.edu/>
  • Catalogs of other libraries
  • RLG Union Catalog (Research Libraries Group) and OCLC FirstSearch (Worldcat) One-stop search of the catalogs of many research libraries. 
  • Search the catalogs above by author, title, keyword, or these suggested subject headings:
          commercial policy
          commercial policy--environmental aspects
          customs administration--United States
          environmental law--North America
          environmental law, international--economic aspects
          environmental policy--North America
          foreign trade regulation--North America
          free trade--North America
          free trade--Canada
          free trade--Mexico
          free trade--United States
          international economic relations
          international trade
          international trade--environmental aspects
          tariff law and legislation--Canada, --Mexico, --United States,
          --North America
  • Metz, Allan. A NAFTA Bibliography. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996. "Legal Aspects/Law," pp. 203-250.
    Reserve KDZ944 .A12 M48 1996

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Selected journals (unbound in B2 South with same call number)

  •       Canadian Business Law Journal
          Bound Periodicals K3 .A4922
  •       Canada-United States Law Journal
          Bound Periodicals K3 .A48
  •       Currents: International Trade Law Journal
          Bound Periodicals  K3 .C79x
  •       Journal of International Arbitration
          Bound Periodicals K10 .O8685
  •       Minnesota Journal of Global Trade
          Bound Periodicals K13 .I54x
  •       NAFTA: Law and Business Review of the Americas
          B2 North KDZ994 .A41992 N34x
  •       Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas
          Bound Periodicals K23 .O83x
  •       United States-Mexico Law Journal
          Bound Periodicals K25 .N54x

To identify articles on your topic, use the Article Finders search box  on the Julius Online Catalog. Article Finders include:

Hein Online has searchable PDFs of U.S. laws reviews starting with
volume 1.

JSTOR is especially good for interdisciplinary research because you can combine groups of subject journals to search,  e.g., law, political science and history.

Index to Legal Periodicals covers U.S. and U.K. law reviews, 1918-1980, and 1981-.

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals, 1985-.  A multilingual index of articles and book reviews, etc., published worldwide and covering international (public and private), comparative, and municipal law of countries other than the United States, the U.K., Canada, and Australia.

For newspapers and non-legal journals, also use Proquest Direct.

WESTLAW and LexisNexis do not cover all the journals covered by the Article Finders, generally do not have PDFs and do not cover early years for many journals. You must be a student, faculty or staff member of the NYU Law School to obtain passwords to WESTLAW and LexisNexis.

If you do not have a LexisNexis or WESTLAW password, use LexisNexis Academic.

SourceOECD, the online publications portal of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, includes monographs, reports, selected periodicals, and the OECD statistical databases.

Bibliography of International-Trade-Related Law Journal Articles, 1970-present. U.S. International Trade Commission Law Library.  <www.usitc.gov/law_journal_bibliog/index.htm>

Other indexes and full-text databases for journals are available through the Database Name search box on the Julius Online Catalog.

When you have a list of articles and need to find the journals, use Journal Title search box on the Julius Online Catalog. These include html, WESTLAW (if you have a password), PDFs, abstracts, and hardcopy journals in the Law Library, but not LexisNexis or Bobst print or microform journals. NOTE: Search the Journal title, NOT the article title. If you don't find the journal through Journal Titles, try LexisNexis and BobCat. Then consult the Reference Desk about visiting another local library or requesting an interlibrary loan through your home library (Law Library, Bobst Library, etc.).


TERMINOLOGY

NAFTA Secretariat Glossary <www.nafta-sec-alena.org/DefaultSite/index_e.aspx?ArticleID=279>

Fouloy, Christian de. Glossary of NAFTA Terms. Dordrecht; Boston: M. Nijhoff Publishers, 1994.
Reserve  KDZ944.A55 F68 1994


Compiled by Jeanne Rehberg, New York University School of Law Library.
  

 
 
This page was updated November 28, 2007

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