In this Report I am going to Compare and contrast the principles, working, policies e.t.c of the two Major Integrated Trade unions which are the EUROPIAN UNION (EU) & North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. Important institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Central Bank. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada.
NAFTA has two supplements: the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC).
HISTORY of EU & NAFTA
The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty—whose main architects were Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand—came into force on 1 November 1993, and in 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the newly established EU. In 2002, euro notes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the euro zone has increased to encompass 17 countries. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the Union.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), trade pact signed in 1992 that would gradually eliminate most tariffs and other trade barriers on products and
References: * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#Economy * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN * Bomberg, Elizabeth, Peterson, John, and Richard Corbett, eds. The European Union: How Does it Work? (3rd ed) (2012, Oxford University Press). ISBN 978-0-19-957080-5 and ISBN 0-19-957080-9. * "NAFTA, Chapter 11". Sice.oas.org. Retrieved 2011-07-04. * NAFTA Turns Twenty – Latinvex, December 5, 2012 * North American Free Trade Agreement, 1992 Oct. 7 at Project Gutenberg * http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org