Agricultural Interest Groups and the North American Free Trade
Agreement AbstractThis paper evaluates the influence of diverse
U.S. agricultural interest groups on the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Under NAFTA, licenses and quotas that
restricted agricultural trade between Mexico and the United
States were converted to tariffs in January 1994 and all tariffs
are to be phased out over adjustment periods of up to 15 years.
The agricultural provisions of the 1988 Canada-U.S. FTA, which
left quantitative barriers intact for dairy, poultry and other
sectors, remain in effect for bilateral Canadian- U.S. trade.
NAFTA received support from export-oriented U.S. producers of
most grains, oilseeds, livestock, and some horticultural
products. Opposition was expressed by wheat producers, seeking
leverage on Canadian export-pricing issues, and protected sugar,
peanut, and winter fruit and vegetable producers. The opposition
was not addressed in the side agreements negotiated by the
Clinton administration bu