Episode Details
Back to Episodes
The Corn Syrup Dispute That Rewrote NAFTA
Description
In the late 1990s, Mexico slapped a 20 percent tax on high-fructose corn syrup from the US, sparking a trade war that went all the way to the WTO. Lucas and Luna unpack how a single sweetener — not steel, not cars — became the opening shot in a broader confrontation over agricultural subsidies, market access, and the limits of free trade agreements. They trace the dispute from its origins in US corn policy to Mexico's creative use of anti-dumping rules, and explain why the case still echoes in today's trade tensions. Specific numbers: US corn subsidies cost taxpayers roughly $4 billion per year; Mexico's HFCS imports dropped from 250,000 metric tons to near zero in two years. A concrete chapter in trade history that reshaped how countries litigate agricultural protectionism.