NAFTA and Federalism: Are They Compatible?

Some commentators have argued that federalism can undermine the strength of the government, especially in international affairs and capitalist development. This perspective argues that multilateral trade agreements, such as NAFTA, are more difficult to achieve and weaker in effect when negotiated and implemented among federal countries. However, an analysis of the process that created NAFTA and its actual economic accomplishments, so far, strongly suggest that the opposite is true: that federal systems, such as Canada, Mexico and the United States, benefit from that experience of "shared governance" in relation to globalization, especially as it reflects the complexity of sovereing integration, critical to the practical success of that process