ABSTRACT
North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) was an innovative compromise between the sovereignty concerns of Mexico and Canada and the United States (US) desire for improved labour standards. The labour movements in Canada and the US feared that free trade would force them to compete with Mexican workers who received only a fraction of their pay and benefits. The Americans initially proposed a broad accord covering many aspects of labour relations, and subjecting countries falling below common standards to trade penalties. The NAALC did not create common standards or establish supranational mechanisms to enforce labour rights or regulations. The NAALC explicitly prevented the signatories from creating 'a private right of action' for other parties violations; hence the signatory governments had to initiate any action to make the NAALC deterrents effective. Transnational institutions were created to support the National Administrative Office activities.
