The 1990 were characterized by an explosion of Free trade agreement among important trading partners. The Europe 1992 plan virtually eliminated trade barriers and good flowed freely and without tariffs from one European country to another. Increasing standardization of products in these markets further reduced trading barriers. In 1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was ratified by the United States, Canada and Mexico and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was implemented, leading to a worldwide reduction in tariffs and other trade barriers. In 2001 the United States launched the Doha Round of free trade talks that continue to the present.