8. C.J.S. Treaties § 6.]
north american free trade agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement. A 1994 agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, designed to phase out all tariffs and eliminate many nontariff barriers (such as quotas) inhibiting the free trade of goods between the participating nations. • Among other provisions, it set minimum standards for intellectual-property protection afforded other members’ citizens. Negotiated at the same time as the GATT talks that produced TRIPs, NAFTA borrowed from many TRIPs provisions on intellectual-property protection, as by as protecting computer software and databases by copyright. While NAFTA incorporates by reference the Berne Convention standards of intellectual-property rights, it exempts the U.S. from recognizing Berne’s moral rights. — Abbr. NAFTA. [Cases: Treaties
