The agricultural sector and overall economy in Mexico are closely linked through factors such as exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation. Because a U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement (FT A) would likely cover much more than agriculture, a thorough understanding of the potential impacts of freer trade in agriculture requires a general understanding of how an FTA with Mexico would affect the Mexican macroeconomy, including monetary policy, governmental structure, and exchange rate policy, and the implications for the agricultural sector.