Analyze the impact of NAFTA on Mexican corn farmers. Why did so many Mexican corn farmers lose their livelihoods as a consequence of NAFTA?(1 point)

Question

Responses

Changes in consumer food preferences from corn toward wheat reduced demand.
Changes in consumer food preferences from corn toward wheat reduced demand.

NAFTA gave subsidies to Mexican corn farmers to increase production, which flooded the market.
NAFTA gave subsidies to Mexican corn farmers to increase production, which flooded the market.

Mexican farmers could not compete with government-subsidized U.S. corn.
Mexican farmers could not compete with government-subsidized U.S. corn.

Manufacturing jobs that processed the corn left Mexico for the U.S. due to lower wages, reducing the need for Mexican-grown corn.

How do quotas protect local producers?(1 point)
Responses

Quotas help organize workers to advocate for increased protections.
Quotas help organize workers to advocate for increased protections.

Quotas add a fee to the price of imported goods, so they are less competitive than local products.
Quotas add a fee to the price of imported goods, so they are less competitive than local products.

Quotas increase competition among different countries, which lowers prices of goods.
Quotas increase competition among different countries, which lowers prices of goods.

Quotas limit the goods that can be imported, which ensures less competition for local producers.

Which option best analyzes how exchange becomes more efficient at a national scale?(1 point)
Responses

Countries enter into treaties that encourage trade, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Countries enter into treaties that encourage trade, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Quaternary industries develop that benefit existing retail structures in local economies by connecting them to other places around the country.
Quaternary industries develop that benefit existing retail structures in local economies by connecting them to other places around the country.

Places within a country specialize based on comparative advantage, meanwhile better technologies enable exchange.
Places within a country specialize based on comparative advantage, meanwhile better technologies enable exchange.

Urban centers refocus on primary industries, leading to the development of secondary industries that encourage exchange.
What type of industries are primarily involved in exchanges between rural mining towns and urban manufacturing centers that use their minerals?(1 point)
Responses

primary and tertiary industries
primary and tertiary industries

secondary and quaternary industries
secondary and quaternary industries

primary and secondary industries
primary and secondary industries

secondary and tertiary industries
secondary and tertiary industries

Answer 1

1. Impact of NAFTA on Mexican Corn Farmers:

Correct Response: Mexican farmers could not compete with government-subsidized U.S. corn.

Analysis: One of the major impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Mexican corn farmers was the influx of heavily subsidized corn from the United States, which was produced at a lower cost due to U.S. agricultural subsidies. As a result, Mexican corn farmers faced stiff competition, which undermined their ability to sell their own crops profitably. Many farmers were unable to compete against the lower prices of imported corn, leading to significant losses and the loss of livelihoods in rural Mexico. The structural changes introduced by NAFTA favored larger-scale farming operations over smallholder farmers, exacerbating issues of poverty in agricultural communities.

2. How Do Quotas Protect Local Producers?

Correct Response: Quotas limit the goods that can be imported, which ensures less competition for local producers.

Analysis: Quotas are regulatory measures that set a physical limit on the quantity of a product that can be imported during a given time frame. By limiting imports, quotas help local producers maintain a larger share of the domestic market. This reduced competition from foreign goods can help stabilize local prices, making it easier for domestic producers to sell their products profitably without the pressure of cheaper imported alternatives.

3. How Exchange Becomes More Efficient at a National Scale:

Correct Response: Countries enter into treaties that encourage trade, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Analysis: Trade treaties like NAFTA facilitate the exchange of goods and services between nations by removing tariffs, reducing trade barriers, and encouraging economic cooperation. As countries commit to these agreements, they create a more efficient exchange system by allowing resources, goods, and services to flow more freely across borders, incentivizing specialization based on comparative advantage, and ultimately leading to more efficient allocation of resources and economic growth.

4. Industries Involved in Exchanges Between Rural Mining Towns and Urban Manufacturing Centers:

Correct Response: Primary and secondary industries.

Analysis: The exchanges between rural mining towns and urban manufacturing centers primarily involve primary industries, which extract raw materials (like minerals), and secondary industries, which process these materials into finished goods. In this relationship, rural mining operations supply the essential raw materials needed by urban manufacturing industries, creating an interdependent economic link between these differing industrial sectors.