Aquifers and Agrochemicals in a Border Region
NAFTA Challenges and Opportunities for Mexican Agriculture [English Summary - Document available in Spanish only]
Aquifers and Agrochemicals in a Border Region
NAFTA Challenges and Opportunities for Mexican Agriculture [English Summary - Document available in Spanish only]
Description
The implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement has markedly revitalized the framework of relations between Mexico and the United States. Among the major topics in the complex bilateral agenda are issues related to trade between the two countries, and also the impact of market liberalization on the present and future state of environmental sustainability.
The farming sectors of both countries have been particularly affected by the Agreement, given that, in general terms, NAFTA has meant the gradual opening of the Mexican grain market to American exports in exchange for the opening of the American market to Mexican exports of fruits and vegetables. While the Agreement’s final impact will only become apparent once the tariff abolition process has concluded in 2009, it is foreseeable, given the economic disparity between the two countries, that the net result will not only include a further weakening of Mexican agriculture, but also a growing trade deficit and, consequently, a deepening of Mexico’s economic dependency.
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