Trade Politics prior to NAFTA

Chapter 3 explores key political and economic conditions in North America that led to NAFTA’s negotiation and examines the relations between labor unions and environmental organizations in the years prior to its proposal when trade policy was dominated by a political elite. It begins with a discussion of trade in the 1930s, then moves into the 1970s when trade policy was not contested by activists. It then tracks the shift to trade liberalization policies, an erosion of legislative consensus around trade, and growing discontent among labor environmental activists leading into the late 1980s. Finally, the chapter examines the history of emerging labor-environmental coalitions in response to maquiladoras.