>> reduction of barriers to trade That's not elimination. A free trade agreement IMHO in laymans terms would be about a paragraph explaining that no party to

>> reduction of barriers to trade That's not elimination. A free trade agreement IMHO in laymans terms would be about a paragraph explaining that no party to it will restrict or tax in any way trade between the parties. I would expect good lawyering to expand that to a few pages of legalese. NAFTA was hundreds of pages and carved out particular niches for industries in the US and Canada at least. It might have been less restrictive than whatever was in place before, but it wasn't what I'd call a free trade agreement.