Ross Perot's description of the "giant sucking sound" of jobs being lost to Mexico from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTAl was one of the most memorable phrases of the 1992 Presidential election-but it turned out to be wrong. There was no sucking sound, and only a few American jobs were lost. Indeed, NAFTA succeeded in a key goal: promoting trade between Mexico and the U.S. And the removal of barriers boosted trade in both directions, so that US trade with Mexico is far better balanced than it is with other trading partners. The U.S. trade deficit with Mexico is 10% of total trade between the two (exports imports). For Japan the figure is 38% and for China it's 72%.