Product Life Cycle Of Cadbury Dairy Milk

Product Life Cycle Of Cadbury Dairy Milk Cadbury chocolates was started in Birmingham in 1824 by John Cadbury. Chocolate in those days was a very elitist product. Cadbury Dairy Milk came up with the mix of milk and chocolate tray which is pretty much how the product still is. There has been no drastic change in the recipe of the product but the packaging and the representation and prominence of the glass and half of milk logo has changed over a period of time. Cadbury India began its operations in 1948 by importing chocolates and then re-packing them before distribution in the Indian market. Today, Cadbury has five company-owned manufacturing facilities at Thane, Induri (Pune) and Malanpur (Gwalior), Bangalore and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and 4 sales offices (New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota and Chennai). Its corporate office is in Mumbai.Worldwide, (http://www.iloveindia.com/economy-of-india/top-50-companies/cadbury-india.html) A Timeline: 1904   A new recipe is perfected by George Cadbury for milk chocolate. 1905   Cadbury launches Dairy Milk onto the market a new milk chocolate that contains far more milk than anything previously tasted and with a unique creamy taste. 1913   Dairy Milk becomes Cadburys best selling line. Mid 1920s   Dairy Milk becomes UK brand leader a position it still enjoys today. 1928   Fruit Nut is introduced as a variation of Dairy Milk. The glass and a half advertising slogan is introduced. 1933   WholeNut is added to the Dairy Milk family. 1948   Cadbury Dairy Milk is sold in India 1998   Dairy Milk is re-launched with the new and modern pack design, but its recipe and unique taste are still very similar to the original recipe. 2005   Cadbury Dairy Milk celebrates its 100th birthday. (http://www.innovation.cadbury.com/allaboutus/ourbrands/featurebrands/Pages/CadburyDairyMilk2.aspx?TabIndex=1) Brand Identity : Kapferers model Stage in the Product Life Cycle Cadbury Dairy Milk is in the maturity stage of the product Life cycle. It currently has a market share of 70% in the chocolate market and is way ahead of its competitors. There is a high degree of brand awareness. The colour purple and the glass and half full logo is amongst the most recognised logos and the association of the two with Cadbury Dairy Milk is synonymous. Market Scenario/Challenges According to AC Nielson study of 2007: Facts Figures The Indian Chocolate market is estimated to beat around 1500crores. It is growing at the rate of 18-20% per annum With 72% of the market share in India, Cadbury is the market leader. Companies The 2 main competitors in the Indian market that Cadbury faces any competition from are Nestle and Amul. There are several new and local brands like Candico, Sweet World etc. which are trying to make its presence felt. Consumer Trends The Mithaai or sweet has been the tradition in India so far. Chocolates are noow trying to break into that league and hence faces stiff competition more from this product category than its immediate competitors. Chocolates are more of an impulse buy. Consumers are preferring chocolates to Mithaai because of proper packaging, longer shelf life, mid-range pricing and convenience. Consumers have started showing interest in not just milk chocolates but other varieties like Dark Chocolate etc. One of the major challenges that Cadbury Dairy Milk faces is a decline in sales due to new variants being introduced in the market by other brands which could result in the product moving from maturity to decline stage. Another major challenge comes from a different product category altogether which is the Indian Sweets or Mithaai. Steps taken by brand at each stage- at a communication and product level Introduction Cadbury Dairy Milk advertising has always depicted a rich tapestry of human emotions and relationships. In the 1980s, it was positioned as the perfect expression of love, captured in memorable copy: sometimes Cadbury can say it better than words. During the early1990s, Cadbury Dairy Milk emphasised its international identity, communicating that it was the real taste of chocolate. In 1994 came the path-breaking real taste of life campaign. The ad featuring a woman running on the cricket field celebrating the victory is still strongly etched in our mind even today. This campaign created a dramatic shift in the way chocolates were perceived. Cadbury Dairy Milk has increasingly become trapped as a reward or bribe for children and this campaign unshackled the brand by re-positioning it to the free-child in every adult. Cadbury Dairy Milk redefined itself as the perfect expression of spontaneous, shared good feelings, providing the real taste of life experience. The strategy paid off: Bran d Cadbury grew by over 50% in sales volumes. (Super brands) Growth Then in 1998, the next stage of growth for the brand dealt with popularising consumption in a social context, especially in more traditional settings like weddings. With the campaign Khaanein waallon ko khaanein ka bahana chahiye featuring Cyrus Broacha, Cadbury Dairy Milk aimed to substantially increase penetration levels. The campaign was launched in tandem with the award winning Kuchh khaas haicampaign and the media strategy was to let the two co-exist towards a common vision: A Cadbury in every pocket. The brand penetrated into smaller towns and sales volumes grew by 40% (Source: Internal Sales Data). (Super brands) Crisis Management The worm controversy resulted in Cadburys brand image taking a beating. They had to recall a batch of chocolates. Instead of taking any short term measures, Cadbury used this opportunity to take action and rebuild the trust of people. They launched a project Vishwas which educated retailers and wholesalers on storage and other aspects apart from educating consumers. The other major step was to change the packaging. The companys repackaging exercise, which used a combination of packaging technologies, was unprecedented in the category. With the redesigned packaging in place, the company decided to communicate the measures it had taken to safeguard quality standards. To add credibility to its pitch, Cadbury took recourse to Amitabh Bachchans deep baritone. This was the first time that a celebrity was used to endorse Cadbury Dairy Milk. The commercial did wonders to consumer confidence. A series of ads with Bachchan including Pappu Paas ho Gaya to Miss Palampur brought back the lost credibility of the people. With Bachchan they also launched their new positioning of Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye bringing in the tradition of celebrating a joyous occasion in India with sweets and now Cadbury Dairy Milk in particular. Maturity The focus for a period shifted to taking the concept of Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye further. The Pehli Tareekh Hai campaigns talked about the importance of having Dairy Milk and celebrating on getting your pay on pay-day. The ads had a very retro-feel to it and did click with the audience. But, it is the recent string of Shubh Aarambh ads that have brought back the old charm of Cadbury Dairy Milk with its very interesting insight of mixing the traditional with the new age. Summary Cadbury Dairy Milk has adapted itself to the Indian market quite impressively. From making a sweet eating nation to switch to chocolates to becoming the market leader, Cadbury Dairy Milk has done it all because of the emotional connect it established with the consumers. Its communication also always focused on the emotional aspects and feelings of life apart from spontaneity. Its communication has always showcased its values and personality. In my opinion, the Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye concept is a goldmine which can be used in a variety of ways in a country like India.

Mitsubishi Corporation Analysis

Capital structure in Japan has been noted to be more highly leveraged than comparative North American firms which brings to mind the question: how is it that Japanese firms have been able to take on such high levels of debt? The answer lies in the environment that Japanese firms have been operating in. More specifically, the levels of debt are likely to have been induced by the lack of alternative sources of finance because of the effect of government regulations, and the different ownership structure in Japanese firms (with institutional lenders being major equity holders). So, the higher leverage has been a consequence of the conditions that Japanese business face-with a more pronounced effect (due to relationships) in companies which are in corporate groups known as keiretsu. These conditions were characteristic of the past. As the benefits of debt are well known in finance theory (tax shields, signaling etc.), the lack of independence and efficiency in decision making borne by Japanese managers seem to be the costs. The result for some firms has been a reduction in debt levels to those more resembling U.S. companies. The questions now have become: What is the optimal debt level for a Japanese firm? Should firms still be taking advantage of the benefits of their keiretsu relationship that have allowed them to take on such levels of debt? Our analysis focuses on Mitsubishi Corporation, a core conglomerate that is part of the larger Mitsubishi Group keiretsu having the capital structure characteristics mentioned above. The report will first explore the circumstances that may have induced Mitsubishi to its present capital structure, then look at more recent events and trends that may affect future financing decisions, and conclude with the Mitsubishi capital structure/optimum debt level analysis. Japanese corporations have outpaced rival firms in the US and Europe in terms of capital investment throughout the 1970†³s and into the 1980†³s. One of the main reasons behind the high level of investment is the better access to capital that Japanese firms have compared to their western counterparts-the result is that Japanese firms seem to have more debt than their U.S. counterparts. A common motive for taking on more debt is for the tax advantages, but there is little to suggest that there is much difference in the taxation systems between the two countries to support such a reason . The most likely factor for this trend in Japan has been the result of the close relationships that Japanese firms have with each other in a keiretsu. In Japan the majority of companies are formed into enterprise groups called keiretsu (which translates as â€Å"series† or â€Å"group†. The basic features of a keiretsu are as follows: cross-share holding agreements, interlocking directorates, intra-group financing, joint investing, and a consistent pattern of dealing among group members. The largest of the keiretsu are Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Fuji, Daiichi Kangyo, and Sanwa (the latter three are centered around Japan†s largest commercial banks. Together, these six corporate groups account for a quarter of total Japanese business assets. Prior to the Second World War, several large monopolistic companies dominated Japanese industry. They were known as zaibatsu – the dominant four were Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo and Yasuda. During the post-war Occupation the holding companies of the zaibatsu that controlled member firms were dissolved. Many firms subsequently regrouped to create the keiretsu we see today. Types of keiretsu: Vertical and Horizontal Vertical keiretsu are arranged hierarchically along production and distribution lines and organized under a principal manufacturer. The benefits of this network include increased efficiency and customer service, decreased distribution costs, simplified marketing channels, rationalized inventory controls and the facilitation of effective information sharing between members. Also, the principal manufacturers receive the benefit of being in a dominant position, which creates a high degree of bargaining power. Horizontal keiretsu are large groups of Japanese companies in a wide range of industries, organized around a commercial bank. Direct competition is avoided between member firms by only having one company in any line of business. The success of this type of keiretsu is attributed to their cross- shareholding and the availability of bank loans to their members. This is supplemented with personnel exchanges and consensus decision making between member firms. Being in a horizontal keiretsu also means that a stable core of long-term shareholders is in place for a company. For our purposes we will be focusing on the capital structure and other features of firms in a horizontal keiretsu. The economic environment that Japanese firms operated in favored highly leveraged capital structures. The following are some of the factors, besides belonging to a keiretsu, that have had an effect on a Japanese firm†s capital structure. The reluctance of Japanese managers to raise equity capital stems from the operations of the Japanese stock markets. Firstly, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is less stringent on disclosure requirements as compared to the NYSE, for example, which causes sharp asymmetric information differences between corporate insiders and the market. The result of this asymmetry is a severe underpricing of new share offerings and a reluctance to issue on management†s part. Firms, therefore, had a preference for bank debt which was less likely to suffer from such pricing effects. Secondly, equity has been an expensive form of finance in the past. The notion of issuing shares at market value is a recent phenomenon whereas traditionally firms issued equity at a historical par value of 50 yen with a fixed dividend. Investors typically demanded a 20 to 30 percent annual dividend on the par value (in essence the instrument was a preferred share), which were paid out of after-tax cash flows. Loans on the other hand were easily obtained through an affiliated bank at reasonable interest rates, and provided a tax shield through the deductible interest payments. Government Regulations and the Bond Market Table 1 shows how the domestic bond market in Japan began to open up during the 1980†³s. Until that time, strict bond issuing criteria that applied internationally kept most firms out of the domestic and foreign bond markets. Government regulations worked against issuing corporate bonds. The government saw corporate bonds as a competitive threat to the its own bonds since interest rates would have to be raised in order for the government†s bonds to compete with those of the top corporations. It wasn†t until 1985 that unsecured straight-debt corporate bonds were even issued. These conditions meant that firms had a reliance on their bank for debt financing; and as a result of their close relationships to banks, had a lower cost of capital and the ability to invest more than those who did not. Structure of Corporate Ownership in Japan The structure of corporate ownership in Japan is quite different compared to their counterparts in the West, with ownership being highly concentrated in Japan. Japanese laws allow institutional investors to exert more control over firms and their management inducing them to seek higher levels of share ownership. Indeed, there is a striking difference between Japanese and US corporate ownership. Ownership by financial institutions (particularly commercial banks) is far greater in Japan than in the US. Japanese commercial banks and insurance companies hold approximately two to three times the number of outstanding shares of public firms than their US counterparts do. On top of being a predominant shareholder, financial institutions play the simultaneous roles of also being the largest creditors of the firms as well being an important long-term commercial business partner. For example, it has been shown that out of 344 manufacturing corporations, financial institutions own 34.48% of the common equity and individuals own 29.53% . Therefore, many Japanese firms have access to more debt since financial institutions have highly concentrated ownership in firms. Ownership concentration does not differ significantly between keiretsu and independent Japanese firms . With high ownership concentration and cross-share holding by banks, suppliers and customers, keiretsu firms are better able to monitor decisions of firms within the group and direct management†s actions to benefit the whole and to act as a collective rather than just being contractual business partners. During the high growth era, the government of Japan†s Ministry of Finance directed investment to high growth industries. To ensure that investment capital was available to firms in these industries, implicit guarantees on the liabilities of financial and non-financial corporations were given to lenders. The provision of a safety net for the loans made the banks eager to lend money to finance rapid expansion in these industries, and the corporations willing to borrow it. Banks were also threatened by market bonds since they posed direct conflict to their business in two ways. First, there was a fear that interest rates on bank deposits would have to be raised from their artificially low rates to keep funds from migrating to other investment instruments. Second, banks did not want to lose their traditional customers for loans to the capital market. Because of their presence in the management and the board of directors in firms within the keiretsu structure, they were able to effectively keep these companies financing their operations with loans. This was relatively easy since most firms could not issue bonds anyhow until recently. The keiretsu system helped to reduce many of the direct and indirect costs faced by Western firms, which may have allowed firms to raise their debt levels. A major benefit arising from keiretsu affiliation is the reduction in costs of financial distress for member firms thus allowing them to take on a higher debt to equity ratio than otherwise possible. This is mainly attributed to keiretsu banking relationships and the consequent high levels of share ownership by financial institutions. Since a Japanese keiretsu is primarily financed by its main bank, to which a firm has close ties to, the extent of financial distress is greatly reduced. Hypothetically, when a firm within a keiretsu is entering financial distress, its main bank will coordinate rescue efforts by arranging loans from other banks as well as itself. In extreme cases, the bank will even find a company within the same keiretsu to merge with the distressed firm. In the event of a bankruptcy, the main bank will bail out the keiretsu firm by absorbing all losses by taking a subordinated position to other debt holders, eliminating the need for squabbling between the other claimants. The other features of the keiretsu, namely cross-ownership of shares and intra-group financing, also decrease the cost of financial distress. Since all firms within a keiretsu have some sort of stake in the distressed firm, it is in their best interest to try to keep that firm in operation . Aid from companies in the keiretsu can come in the form of stretched receivables, favorable transfer pricing and direct management incentives. To decrease the probability of bankruptcy and to increase the likelihood of recovery by a financially distressed firm, it would be ideal to expand, invest, and allow their organizations to grow. This is consistent among keiretsu firms since in times of financial distress, they tend to invest 46 percent more compared to non-keiretsu firms . Firms in financial distress generally have problems in raising capital, which may be in part due to a free rider problem. Firms with diffuse groups of creditors are faced with this problem because individual debt holders would not be willing to refinance the firm or renegotiate debt claims even though it would be in their collective best interests to do so. This problem is absent however, when a keiretsu firm is primarily financed with bank loans from a single creditor. Free rider problems are less severe or eliminated in keiretsu organizations. In addition, keiretsu firms tend to stay out of Japanese bankruptcy courts. Since financially distressed keiretsu firms are bailed out internally, the direct costs of bankruptcy such as legal and advisory fees, are vastly reduced. American firms on the other hand see the majority of disputes, arising from financial distress, ending up in bankruptcy courts. This problem in the US corporate system can be partially attributed to the wide use of bond financing. A multitude of bondholder claims are more difficult to restructure than a single bank loan and US bankruptcy legislation prevents companies from changing the principal, interest, and maturity without unanimous consent from bondholders. Therefore, keiretsu firms do not incur these large costs of financial distress, which can reach up to five percent of firm value, incurred by their US counterparts. In the end, the lower costs of financial distress is another reason why Japanese firms can take on more debt and thus lower their costs of capital even more with increased utilization of their tax shields. A financial keiretsu, through its network of corporate cross-shareholdings and strong relationship with a main bank, serves as an effective system for monitoring the actions of a member firm. Member firms are in unique positions to serve as mutual monitors because the success of a single firm is in the best interests of the entire keiretsu. As keiretsu firms typically have seats on other member firm†s board of directors, they can make sure that the actions of management are in accord with the interests of the entire group. The main bank acts as the primary lender and as a major shareholder, also tends to have its own executives sit on the board. This dual role ensures that the banks will be looking out for the interests of both bond and equity holders of the firm. The costs of monitoring are not as high as they are in the US system for any one party since the ownership is not as diluted. Hence, each member has a signficant interest in monitoring the firm†s activities and the free rider problem is alleviated. This system of corporate governance effectively makes sure that management pursues long run value creation. Agency costs are reduced in a keiretsu because of the unique relationships within the group. Shareholders cannot participate in moral hazard activities such as transferring risk to debt holders or transferring wealth from them by encouraging management to take on negative NPV projects. Both the higher level of debt and the structure of ownership, i.e. the bank being a creditor-owner and the high proportion of shares being cross-held within a keiretsu, serve the purpose of keeping managerial interests in accord with the group. The lower agency costs also results from the fact that most of the debt is short-term and secured.

Emily Dickinson s `` Because I Could Not Stop For Death...

Modernism for Emily Dickinson has to do with the uncertainty. Emily Dickinson was a somber thinker who doesn’t try to enlighten anyone of anything. Her poems were uniquely written and she wrote about the uncertainty, which makes her poetry easy to empathize with in the 21st century. The 21st century, is a period of science which is used as a tool to make sense of the uncertainty. Emily Dickinson uses her poetry as a means to question and observe the trauma of human existence. For instance, she doesn’t shy away from the reality of death in her poem â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death†. Emily Dickinson being obsessed with the concept of death influenced her to question the effect that death creates by painting death as a traveling companion in her poem. Dickinson as a modern writer challenges traditional beliefs such as gender norms and society in her poem â€Å"I gave myself to him†. She questions the value of marriage which is treated as a business t ransition. She also went against traditional writing as demonstrated by her use of punctuation. Emily Dickinson doesn’t purposely strive towards an end or aim to convince the audience of something, which makes her poetry work as riddles so that the reader questions and analyzes her poetry. Through analyzing Emily Dickinson’s poetry, she demonstrates that she is a modern poet by questioning and observing the values of the nineteenth century. Emily Dickinson enables the reader to come up with many interpretations of her poems becauseShow MoreRelatedEmily Dickinson s Because I Could Not Stop For Death867 Words   |  4 Pagesthe idea of death, many thoughts can come to mind. These thoughts can include peaceful, scary, inevitable, cold, and many other things. Being one of the only female poets of her time, Emily Dickinson is a profound writer and her poems are intricate works of art. In her poem, â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop For Death,† Dickinson uses strong dict ion and imagery to describe the intimacy an individual has with death when it is encountered. Emily Dickinson’s poem, â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop For Death,† is a poemRead MoreEmily Dickinson s `` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``762 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Dickinson concentrates many of her poems on the theme of death, predominantly her own. These â€Å"poems about death confront its grim reality with honesty, humor, curiosity, and above all a refusal to be comforted (â€Å"Emily Dickinson 1830-1886† 1659). While this was not an out of the ordinary topic during the American Romantic era, Dickinson seemed near obsessive in her focus. Additionally, Dickinson seems questionable in her thoughts on religion, another theme popular during the American RomanticRead MoreEmily Dickinson s `` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``1088 Words   |  5 PagesEmily Dickinson Emily Dickinson’s poems are shorter than most, but that does not mean that they lack depth or skill. Dickinson uses many brilliant literary techniques in her poetry such as allusions, personification, juxtaposition, metaphors and so many others. Her unique use of symbolism throughout her poems really makes the reader think twice on what they are reading. And since the majority of her poems are short, it makes it easier to reread the poem numerous times. In Emily Dickinson’s PoemRead MoreEmily Dickinson s Because I Could Not Stop For Death1751 Words   |  8 Pages Outlook on Death in Dickinson’s â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop for Death† Death is considered by many to be the heartbreaking end of life; the moment when one is bound to hopelessness, to accept loss, and to accept the inevitable. As discouraging as this outlook on death may appear, it is captivating why Emily Dickinson preferred to make death one among the major themes of her poems. Because numerous poets of the 19th century wrote about death, Dickinson was not exceptional in picking this idea. HoweverRead MoreEmily Dickinson s A Route Of Evanescence And Because I Could Not Stop For Death1167 Words   |  5 PagesEmily Dickinson Emily Dickinson published only a few poems during her time. Her work was only truly discovered after her death of kidney disease in 1886 at the age of fifty-six. Upon her death her sister Lavinia Dickinson found hundreds of poems tied into a book stitched together by Emily. People claim that she is the most original 19th Century American Poet and is now considered one of the towering figures of American literature. Although She is known for her unconventional broken rhyming meterRead MoreEmily Dickinson s Poem, Because I Could Not Stop For Death854 Words   |  4 Pages Death is everywhere. From the insect you killed this morning to the family member you lose recently, there is no force stronger than death. Emily Dickinson, a 19th century writer, indulges that fact but also goes beyond it in her work. Dickinson revisits the theme of death in her poetry. Through her work, she shows readers her fascination with death the emotions associated with it. In â€Å"I heard a Fly buzz when I died† and â€Å"I’ve seen a Dying Eye†, Dickinson shows us a very intimate view of a personRead MoreEmily Dickinson s Poem, Because I Could Not Stop For Death877 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Dickinson is known for writing poems that relate to death and dying, and the poem â€Å"Because I could not stop for death† is no exception. This is a narrative poem that illustrates the passage from life to death as a carriage ride through a quiet town. In this particular poem, the speaker has already passed away and is remembering what seems to be a fond memory, however that is not revealed till the final stanza. There are only two characters, The speaker and Death. The speaker is a lady whoRead MoreFigurative Language And Imagery Of Emily Dickinson s `` Because I Could Not Stop For Death ``2152 Words   |  9 Pages Emily Dickinson is considered to be one of the greatest poets of figurative language and imagery. I found her poem â€Å"Because I could N ot Stop for Death† to be an exemplary illustration of those forms of writing. Enlaced with the personifications of Death, Immortality, and Eternity; Dickinson reaches into the depths of the reader’s psyche and transports them on a journey into her world of life after death. In this essay, I will attempt to show that due to certain event that occurred towards theRead MoreThe Author That I Decided To Discuss The Literary Significance1232 Words   |  5 PagesThe author that I decided to discuss the literary significance is Emily Dickinson. Dickinson was born, raised, and in Amherst, Massachusetts in December 10, 180 and died May 15, 1886 in the same state. Her father was Edward Dickinson, and her mother was also named Emily, Emily Norcross Dickinson. Emily Dickinson went to Mount Holyoke College, a small private school in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She’s known as one of the best American Poet. Emily s poem were frequently perceived by a wide rangeRead MoreEmily Dickinson : The Point When A Reader1749 Words   |  7 PagesHorieh Introduction to Literature Professor Knoernschild November 27, 2015 Emily Dickinson At the point when a reader hears the name Emily Dickinson, they consider a female who composed verse that has been surely understood for a considerable length of time and years. Much to their dismay that Emily Dickinson established American Literature, and began an entire unrest of verse. The procedure Dickinson used to keep in touch with her verse was at no other time seen and was the foundation

The North American Free Trade Agreement - 2468 Words

1.1 Introduction The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was is the biggest free trade region in the globe, creating economic development and helping to raise the living standard for the citizens of all three member states. By strengthening the policies and procedures governing trade and investment, the NAFTA has indicated to be a solid foundation for developing Canada’s prosperity and has set an important example of the advantages of trade liberalization for the rest of the globe. Two decades after its implementation, the NAFTA, has helped make better intraregional trade among the states of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, but has not created the jobs and the deeper regional economic integration its promoters promised years†¦show more content†¦The NAFTA partners have set up this website to offer Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans with information about the way NAFTA works and the numerous ways in which it has improved the lives of the people in North America (De Hoyos Leonardo, 2011). 1.2 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) NAFTA is a trilateral free-trade agreement that came into effect in January 1994, signed by the then U.S. president Bill Clinton, Mexican president Carlos Salinas, and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrà ©tien. The central drive of the agreement is to get rid of most tariffs on products traded among the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The terms of the agreement required these tariffs to be gotten rid of slowly but surely, and the final factors of the deal weren t entirely implemented until January 1, 2008. The deal got rid of import tariffs in numerous industries such as agriculture which was a major focus, but tariffs were also reduced on items such as textiles and automobiles. In addition, NAFTA implemented intellectual-property protections, set up dispute-resolution systems, and set up regional labor and environmental safeguards, though several critics now lobby for stronger strategies on this front (Agama McDaniel, 2002). 1.3 Economists’ way of assessing NAFTA s economic impact It is challenging to verify causality between NAFTA s implementation and economic development, and it is not possible to compute the