We became welfare agents for Canada and Mexico because the politicians we elected handed our checkbooks to them. Not because we can get bananas from Mexico at 99 cents/pound in the dead of Winter.
The politicians leveraged NAFTA to facilitate much of the open checkbooks. We were getting bananas year round way before NAFTA - I kind of miss the days when we got different fruits and vegetables in season - they were not "doctored" to last longer (and taste worse) and it made them more appreciated when fresh was available with cans being the back up for off season.