Fetch the Bolt Cutters: Reflections on Racial Capitalism and the NAFTA/USMCA

Using the pecan orchards of West Texas as a starting point, this Article offers a reflection on the utility of racial capitalism as an organizing frame for understanding international trade and trade agreements. The Article is also a tribute to other scholars in this field, whose work long precedes and informs my own. It is an expanded version of a presentation given for an symposium at Brooklyn Law School in October 2023 on Promises and Challenges for the Future of North American Trade, and it is written for readers who may be unfamiliar with this body of work.