Council of the Americas

Founded in 1965 by a group of business people led by David Rockefeller, the Council of the Americas (COA) is a business organization that supports free markets and private enterprise in North America. Member companies include businesses in the manufacturing, natural resources, technology, communications, healthcare, and financial industries.

Throughout the early 1990s, COA lobbied for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and was instrumental in its conception and 1994 passage. The agreement was intended to promote economic growth by easing the movement of goods and services between the U. S., Mexico, and Canada. It removed most tariffs and restrictions on trade between the nations and codified a range of agreements regarding telecommunications, intellectual property, mobility of workers, environmental policies, and the trade of agricultural, textiles, and automobiles.

Sources:

Ford, Andréa. “A brief history of NAFTA.” Time, December 30, 2008.

“ History .” Council of the Americas. Accessed March 24, 2011.

From the guide to the Council of the Americas NAFTA Collection 95-259., 1985-1995, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

Founded in 1965 by a group of business people led by David Rockefeller, the Council of the Americas (COA) is a business organization that supports free markets and private enterprise in North America.

Member companies include businesses in the manufacturing, natural resources, technology, communications, healthcare, and financial industries.

Throughout the early 1990s, COA lobbied for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and was instrumental in its conception and 1994 passage.

The agreement was intended to promote economic growth by easing the movement of goods and services between the U. S., Mexico, and Canada. It removed most tariffs and restrictions on trade between the nations and codified a range of agreements regarding telecommunications, intellectual property, mobility of workers, environmental policies, and the trade of agricultural, textiles, and automobiles.

From the description of Council of the Americas NAFTA Collection, 1985-1995 (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 773297749