How did subsidized U.S. agricultural exports affect Mexican small farmers under NAFTA?

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the influx of subsidized agricultural exports from the United States—such as corn, apples, and high-fructose corn syrup—created significant economic hardship for Mexican smallholders.1

These subsidized U.S. products were often sold at prices that local farmers could not compete with, leading to mounting concern that such trade practices were forcing millions of small-scale Mexican farmers off their land. As a result of this displacement, many of these individuals were compelled to leave their farms to seek employment in industrial or service-based jobs, often finding work in maquiladoras or migrating to the United States.1

While NAFTA proponents initially argued that the agreement would foster prosperity through open trade, critics highlighted these negative impacts on family farmers as evidence of the agreement's failure to protect vulnerable populations.12