The NAFTA bill was signed by former President Bill Clinton on December 8, 1993. The agreement went into effect January 1, 1994. While signing the bill, Clinton stated, " NAFTA means jobs, American jobs and good-paying American jobs. If I did not believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement."

Before it made its way to Clinton, here's the steps taken to pass the NAFTA act.

The House of Representatives, leaving all the loud discussions behind, passed the 'North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act on November 17, 1993, '234-200'. The agreements supporters included 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats. The bill passed the Senate on November 20, 1993, '61-33'. Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. And then signed by Clinton as mentioned above.

NAFTA act created one of the key trade blocs in the world, which became extremely important and useful for the American economy. The citizens and organizations of Mexico, the US and Canada have benefited on NAFTA and got used to the rules adopted after the act. For example, the Mexican meat industry grew a lot, becoming the second largest US agricultural importer.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org