NAFTA's uninvited guest: China and the disintegration of North American trade

Abstract

This paper examines the extent to which China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and subsequent surge in global exports affected the composition of trade between the United States and Mexico through 2009. The authors found that China's entry had a significant impact on the trade relations between these two North American countries, replacing and displacing many of the export strongholds in place before China joined the WTO and after the first stage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1994-2000). Based on this research, the authors offer a variety of policy options for reinvigorating United States- Mexico trade and cooperating with China in the global economy.