The idea was to have a free trade area stretching from Alaska to the South Pole - but could it ever happen?
Just this week passions in the Americas have spilled over into anger about whether free trade benefits the poorest at all?
It has been 12 years since Mexico joined the United States and Canada to create a huge single market for goods and services.
Some want to go further than the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) while others want to dig its grave.
