On September 30, 2018, the deadline for negotiations between Canada and the United States, an interim agreement was reached between the two countries, thus retaining the trilateral pact when the Trump administration submits the agreement to Congress. [150] The new name of the agreement was the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and came into force on July 1, 2020. [151] [152] The overall effect of the agricultural agreement between Mexico and the United States is controversial. Mexico has not invested in the infrastructure needed for competition, such as efficient railways and highways. This has led to more difficult living conditions for the country`s poor. Mexico`s agricultural exports increased by 9.4% per year between 1994 and 2001, while imports increased by only 6.9% per year over the same period. [69] NAFTA covers services other than air, shipping and basic telecommunications. The agreement also provides protection for intellectual property rights in a wide range of areas, including patents, trademarks and copyrighted material. NAFTA`s procurement provisions apply not only to goods, but also to contracts for services and work at the federal level. In addition, U.S.

investors are assured of equal treatment for domestic investors in Mexico and Canada. In 1990, Carlos Salinas, then Mexican president, began talks with the United States to join the North American Free Trade Area. That is why Reagan`s successor, President George Bush, began negotiations in 1991 for a North American trade agreement that would bring together the United States, Mexico and Canada. Additional ancillary agreements have been adopted to allay concerns about the potential impact of the treaty on the labour market and the environment. Critics feared that U.S. and Canadian companies in Mexico would have generally low wages, which would lead to a shift of production to Mexico and a rapid reduction in manufacturing employment in the United States and Canada. Meanwhile, environmentalists were concerned about the potentially catastrophic effects of rapid industrialization in Mexico, which does not have experience in implementing and enforcing environmental legislation.