Mexico in tune with the US
Enrique Dussel, coordinator of the China-Mexico Studies Center (Cechimex) of the Faculty of Economics of the UNAM, tells Expansion that some measures are similar to those implemented by the United States, especially in the area of tariffs.
On April 17, US President Joe Biden announced that he was going to triple the tariffs already imposed on steel and aluminum from China, and a few days later, Mexico published a decree imposing tariffs on 544 fractions, which includes these products.
“There was no diagnosis, analysis, or even discussion about it in Mexico, and coincidentally, it happened five or six days after Biden announced that the United States was going to significantly increase tariffs on these same products. Was it a coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidences,” says the expert on Mexico-China relations.
A month ago, the Secretary of the Treasury, Rogelio Ramírez de la O, urged a review of trade with China, in a context in which Mexico’s imports from the Asian country have grown significantly.
China accounts for 20% of Mexico’s imports and the United States more than 40%.
“The Secretary of the Treasury announces: ‘Watch out, we have problems with China! If they substitute imports from China, Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product could increase.’ I would say, well, Mexico’s main importer is the United States. So we are going to substitute imports from the United States, but no, that is not said.”
Gabriela Siller, director of Economic Analysis at Grupo Financiero Base, agrees that there are signs and a perception that Mexico is beginning to put obstacles in the way of China, but it is not a bad thing that it is looking after its interests.
“As in any war, you have to choose who your ally is. And so far, by far, there is more trade with the United States, 80% of Mexico’s exports go to that country and also the largest amount of foreign direct investment,” he points out.
Mexico must act with caution
Siller says that Mexico does not have to close itself off to trade with China, it only needs to ensure that purchases from the Asian country remain in the country and are not triangulated so that they enter the United States.
For the specialist, the worst thing that can happen is that in the review of the T-MEC towards 2026, Mexico is forced to decide how to manage its relationship with China, which would be an attack on its sovereignty, which is why the country must outline its strategy of what it is going to do with the Asian giant.
Enrique Dussel believes that limiting trade with China puts American, Mexican and other countries’ own companies in Mexico at risk, because it is the main supplier of components for the automotive industry, and the country is not ready to replace all of these imports.
“For 20 years, China has been consolidating itself as an important exporter to Mexico and in specific sectors, where Mexico has replaced imports that historically were American.”
The Cechimex coordinator points out that the outlook for Mexico-China relations is highly uncertain, as it depends on what the United States will do.
“They want to return to the Make America Great Again“Go back to 1960 and 1970, when China did not exist economically. That is impossible!” he said.
