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The agricultural provisions in each of the Peru, Panama and Colombia "free trade agreements" (FTAs) are nearly identical to those in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The agreements remove tariffs on U.S. imports and forbid various price ceilings on staple foods and price floors for farmers, but do not discipline U.S. subsidies - meaning they would cause enormous distortions and disruption to the farm and food systems in the three Latin American countries, where millions live as subsistence farmers. Under NAFTA, the same package of policies led to 1.3 million Mexican peasant farmers losing their livelihoods as subsidized U.S. food imports flooded the market. To learn more about the likely agriculture and hunger impacts of these NAFTA expansions, click on the items below and to the right. Or, visit our NAFTA agriculture section to learn about NAFTA's failed agricultural record. |