The New York Times recently
outlined what the North American Free Trade Agreement means for three items
notorious for their association with American culture. Combined, what should be
considered for a country song title, the article details the cross-border trade
of beer, bacon and blue jeans. The article notes that a change in trade policy
could change the future of the three American icons. Mexico relies on the U.S.
to ship beer making ingredients across the border to brew up a batch, that then
returns to the U.S. as Mexico’s biggest agricultural export to the United
States. More than half of the barley exported from the United States goes to
Mexico, and most of the hops that Mexico imports come from the United States.
As for bacon, many feeder pigs are born in Canada, then shipped to the U.S. for
farmers to “finish,” and ultimately, lead to bacon. Under World Trade rules,
neither the U.S. nor Canada charges a tariff on imported pork. But, U.S. pork
would face a tariff of 20 percent when moving into Mexico. Finally, blue jeans
made in Mexico use U.S. cotton from 17 states. A no-NAFTA future would mean
jeans made in Mexico and bound for the U.S., would also face a steep tariff.
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