	Introduction

The connections between trade and migration are as longstanding as the historic movements of goods and people. The desire for commerce may often be the principal motivation, but the need to send people to facilitate the transactions soon follows. In addition to the specific treaty trader/investor provisions of immigration law, there are often broader immigration issues raised in the context of the recent free trade agreements (FTAs). These issues include whether FTAs should contain provisions that expressly expand immigration between the countries as well as whether FTAs should require that the immigrant-sending countries restrain unwanted migration (typically expressed as illegal aliens). The question of whether the movement of people—especially temporary workers—is subsumed under the broader category of "provision of services" and thus an inherent part of any free trade agreement also arises. Even in FTAs that do not have explicit immigration provisions, such as the U.S.-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), there is a debate over the effects that FTAs may have on future migration. Although the United States has not created a common market for the movement of labor with our trading partners, there are immigration provisions in several existing FTAs that spell out reciprocal terms regulating the "temporary entry of business persons." The official summary of the four categories of "business persons" who may enter the three countries temporarily and on a reciprocal basis are as follows:
business visitors engaged in international business activities for the purpose of conducting activities related to research and design, growth, manufacture and production, marketing, sales, distribution, after-sales service and other general services (B-1 visitors for business); traders who carry on substantial trade in goods or services between their own country and the country they wish to enter, as well as investors seeking to commit a substantial amount of capital in that country, provided that such persons are employed in a supervisory or executive capacity or one that involves essential skills (E-1 treaty traders and E-2 treaty investors); intracompany transferees employed by a company in a managerial or executive capacity or one that involves specialized knowledge and who are transferred within that company to another NAFTA country (L intracompany transferees); and certain categories of professionals who meet minimum educational requirements or who possess alternative credentials and who seek to engage in business activities at a professional level in that country (TN professionals under Section 214(e) of the INA). There are a variety of approaches to study the impact of trade agreements on migration, and this report draws on three of several different possible perspectives. Trade Volume and Business-Based Temporary Admissions

The volume of trade that the United States has with its top trading partners correlates with the number of times foreign nationals from these countries enter the United States. Figure 2 illustrates the upward trends in the temporary migration of all business and professional workers that Globerman observed between the United States and Canada during the years that followed the entry into force of the Canada-United States FTA. As Figure 4 illustrates, the number of Mexican-born residents of the United States who report that they came after 1995 (NAFTA went into force in October 1994) is substantial and resembles the "migration hump" that Philip Martin predicted.
The connections between trade and migration are as longstanding as the historic movements of goods and people. The desire for commerce may often be the principal motivation, but the need to send people to facilitate the transactions soon follows. Recognition of this phenomenon is incorporated into the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which includes provisions for aliens who are entering the United States solely as "treaty traders" and "treaty investors." Although the United States has not created a common market for the movement of labor with our trading partners, there are immigration provisions in existing free trade agreements (FTAs) that spell out reciprocal terms regulating the "temporary entry of business persons."
Immigration issues often raised in the context of the FTAs include whether FTAs should contain provisions that expressly expand immigration between the countries as well as whether FTAs should require that the immigrant-sending countries restrain unwanted migration (typically expressed as illegal aliens). The question of whether the movement of people—especially temporary workers—is subsumed under the broader category of "provision of services" and thus an inherent part of any free trade agreement also arises. Even in FTAs that do not have explicit immigration provisions, such as the United States-Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), there may be a debate over the effects that FTAs might have on future migration.
There are a variety of approaches to study the impact of trade agreements on migration, and this report draws on several different perspectives. The volume of trade that the United States has with its top trading partners correlates with the number of times foreign nationals from these countries enter the United States, regardless of whether there is an FTA. Research on the aftermath of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) found upward trends in the temporary migration of business and professional workers between the United States and Canada during the years that followed the implementation of the Canada-United States FTA (later NAFTA). Another set of analyses revealed that the number of Mexican-born residents of the United States who report that they came in to the country during the years after NAFTA came into force is substantial and resembles the "migration hump" that economists predicted. Many factors other than NAFTA, however, have been instrumental in shaping this trend in Mexican migration.
This report provides background and analysis on the complex nexus of immigration and trade. It does not track legislation and will not be regularly updated.