How did the Great Recession affect assessments of NAFTA's economic effects?

The Great Recession of 2007–09 significantly influenced assessments of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by overshadowing any potential beneficial effects the trade pact might have otherwise provided.1

During the post-NAFTA period, economic growth in the United States, Canada, and Mexico was generally unimpressive. Because the United States and Canada suffered greatly from several economic recessions, including the Great Recession, it became difficult to isolate or attribute specific economic outcomes to the treaty itself.1

While proponents had originally envisioned NAFTA as a catalyst for prosperity and job creation, and critics had feared it would cause devastating job losses and environmental degradation, the actual results were mixed. Ultimately, the economic downturns of the era served to obscure the treaty's impact, as the broader macroeconomic instability made it difficult to discern the specific influence of NAFTA on the participating nations' economies.1