Let them Eat Imports: Food Imports to U.S. Soar under WTO-NAFTA Model, Threatening Family Farmers and Safety
In the mid-1990s, supporters of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) sold the deals to U.S. farmers and ranchers as the new path to economic success – hyping the agreements’ prospects for increasing exports. U.S. food exports have increased, but not nearly as much as food imports. In 2013, the total volume of U.S. food exports stood just 0.5 percent higher than in 1995, the year that the WTO took effect. In contrast, imports of food into the United States in 2013 towered 115 percent above the 1995 level that marked the dawn of the WTO era.