Acceleration of NAFTA Tariff Elimination Affects $25 billion in total trade

January 2002

On January 9, 2002, the USTR announced an agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, to accelerate elimination of tariffs under NAFTA. Because U.S.-Canada tariffs have already been eliminated, the latest reduction affects tariffs between Mexico and both Canada and the United States. With these reductions, which became effective January 1, Mexico's average tariff on U.S.-origin goods has fallen from a pre-NAFTA average of 10 percent, to less than one-half of one percent.

The accelerated elimination of duties on Mexican goods to the U.S. affects fifteen products, all of which are rubber or plastic footwear, or parts thereof. In turn, Mexico has eliminated tariffs on forty U.S.-origin items, including rubber or plastic footwear, automobiles and automobile parts, various electrical equipment, and stuffed toys.

Please contact your international trade counsel to determine how these changes affect your business. To view the press release, go to the USTR website at: http://www.ustr.gov/releases/2002/01/02-04.htm.