• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
NAFTA's Promise and Reality: Lessons from Mexico for the Hemishphere
Report

NAFTA's Promise and Reality: Lessons from Mexico for the Hemishphere

This report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace examines the impact of NAFTA after ten years.

Link Copied
By Dr. Demetrios Papademetriou, Mr. John Audley, Ms. Sandra Polaski, Mr. Scott Vaughan
Published on Nov 9, 2003

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)

Source: Carnegie

About the Report
This report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace examines the impact of NAFTA after ten years. The report asks:

    • whether NAFTA has achieved-or is on track to achieve-its policy objectives;
    • what impact it has had on the lives and livelihoods of North Americans, particularly Mexicans; and
    • what lessons can be drawn for future trade policy for the US and for developing countries that negotiate trade pacts with the US.

To answer these questions, the authors looked beyond the two headline figures that have typically been used to measure the impact of NAFTA: the increase in the volume of trade between the countries and the increase in the flow of foreign investment.

Click on the link above to read the full text.
Read the Spanish translation.
New York Times 11/19/03 article (may require free registration)

About the Authors
Sandra Polaski
is director of Carnegie’s Trade, Equity, and Development Project. Demetrios G. Papademetriou is co-director and co-founder of the Migration Policy Institute. Scott Vaughan, formerly a visiting scholar with Carnegie's Trade, Equity, and Development Project, is director of the Unit for Sustainable Development and Environment at the Organization of American States. John Audley, formerly director of Carnegie's Trade, Equity, and Development Project, is senior transatlantic advisor at the German Marshall Fund.

*Errata:
In Figure 10 (page 25) the trend line labeled "wages" inadvertantly showed unit labor costs. The new figure correctly presents the data on wages.

On page 27, the study cited in footnote 37 claims that NAFTA eliminated 766,000 net jobs during its first seven years. The text has been changed to reflect this.

About the Authors

Dr. Demetrios Papademetriou

Former Senior Associate

Mr. John Audley

Former Senior Associate

Ms. Sandra Polaski

Former Senior Associate, Director, Trade, Equity and Development Program

Until April 2002, Polaski served as the U.S. Secretary of State’s Special Representative for International Labor Affairs, the senior State Department official dealing with such matters.

Mr. Scott Vaughan

Former Visiting Scholar

Authors

Dr. Demetrios Papademetriou
Former Senior Associate
Mr. John Audley
Former Senior Associate
Ms. Sandra Polaski
Former Senior Associate, Director, Trade, Equity and Development Program
Sandra Polaski
Mr. Scott Vaughan
Former Visiting Scholar
North AmericaSouth AmericaEconomyTrade

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • two men sitting next to each other
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Senegal’s Debt Crisis Has Moved Its Leaders from Partners to Rivals

    The impacts of the Faye-Sonko rupture could go well beyond the country’s borders.

      • Dr. Lesley Anne Warner

      Lesley Anne Warner

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia’s Elite Conflict Over Internet Restrictions Does Not Herald Regime Collapse

    A much-discussed disagreement over internet restrictions in Russia was never an existential threat for Putin: It was about elite groups protecting their interests.  

      Alexandra Prokopenko

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Could Migrants From India and Africa Solve Russia’s Labor Shortage?

    The demands of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, demographic problems, and public hostility toward Central Asians mean Russia does not have enough workers.  

      Salavat Abylkalikov

  • Photo of garment workers sewing jeans in Kenya.
    Article
    The Strategic Stakes of AGOA Reform and Renewal

    Strengthening U.S.-Africa trade and advancing U.S. interests aren’t conflicting goals.

      • Tyler Beckelman
      • Kholofelo Kugler

      Tyler Beckelman, Kholofelo Kugler

  • Chinese President Xi Jinping interacts with U.S. President Donald Trump during a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China.
    Commentary
    Post U.S.-China Summit: Managed Instability

    The U.S.-China Summit produced a welcome commitment to build a constructive, strategically stable relationship. However, the United States has a full agenda, including the USMCA review beginning this week, that will likely target Chinese practices of concern. If China views these efforts as inconsistent with the agreements reached in Beijing, it may slow or halt progress in response. 

      • Barbara Weisel

      Barbara Weisel

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.