Implementation of NAFTA began on January 1, 1994. The agreement removed many barriers to trade and investment between the USA, Canada, and Mexico. NAFTA created one of the world's largest free trade areas, linking 4 million people producing US$17 trillion worth of goods and services. NAFTA, it was promised, would be a boom for Mexican farmers, giving them access to the world' largest consumer market located just north of their border in the USA.