The good omens for investments in Mexico come at a time when trade between the Dominican Republic and that country is very small.
After it was revealed that the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Mexico had requested a study from ECLAC in Mexico to detect actions aimed at encouraging trade exchange that would lead to productive linkages, the country must now give its approval to this initiative.
Mexico is one of the economies with the brightest future due to the tendency of many companies to move part of their production to be closer to the United States, the final destination of their products.
Mexico was ranked 21st among the most attractive countries for foreign investment in 2024, and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently said that if he had to choose a country to invest in, Mexico could be the number one opportunity in the world. Furthermore, Wall Street analysts believe that now may be the best time for the country.
These good omens come at a time when trade between the Dominican Republic and Mexico is small, with a balance in favor of Mexico of 524 million dollars in 2023. Last year, Mexico’s purchases in the Dominican Republic amounted to 291 million dollars and its sales to the DR were 815 million.
The ECLAC study «Productive linkages between the Dominican Republic and Mexico» points out that Mexico is the 32nd destination for Dominican exports and the third supplier of its imports, while the Dominican Republic is the 27th destination for Mexican exports and its 57th supplier of goods.
That could change a lot in a positive way for both countries, if the Dominican Republic signed a FTA with Mexico, mutually beneficial for both parties, which takes into account the opportunities for the Dominican Republic to join the global value chains in which Mexico participates and which include steel products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, plastics, and textiles.
An FTA with Mexico could improve bilateral trade, as although both countries have a network of trade agreements that link them to various markets, the relationship between them remains limited.
Since 2015, both the Dominican-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican Embassy in the country had been in favor of the Dominican Republic signing a free trade agreement with Mexico, and the moment could not be more opportune for both countries to take up the issue again.
