Today In History: NAFTA

On Aug. 12, 1992, President Bush, in a Rose Garden appearance, announced the completion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

President Bush said, "The historic agreement will further open markets in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, and it will create jobs and generate growth in all three countries."

President Bush lost his re-election bid in 1992, but a slightly amended agreement was signed by President Clinton in December 1993. NAFTA took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. Over the next 15 years, it is scheduled to eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers. It created the world's largest and richest trading bloc, covering 360 million people and stretching from the tropics to the Arctic.