While Mexico is committed to prioritizing agricultural exports, Concamin warned, Korea is thinking of gaining ground in manufacturing and industrial goods with some added value. “That means that the supply chains in Mexico will be replaced by those in Korea, affecting our jobs and investments.”
“For this reason, we believe that this negotiation is contrary to the presidential proposal made on November 18, 2021 within the framework of the North American Leaders Summit, where, before President Joe Biden, it was agreed to work as a region to substitute imports from Asian countries. ”, Concamin said in a statement.
“In moments of global definitions, we believe that Mexico should bet on greater integration with North America, our natural market,” added the confederation.
At the express question of Expansión, the Secretary of the Economy, Tatiana Clouthier, said that the Mexican government has maintained communication with businessmen on this issue:
“I don’t know who is right or wrong, I am not going to confront anyone, what I can tell you is that we have talked with all of them and we will continue talking with all of them,” he said after participating in a Citibanamex forum in the CDMX.
“In every treaty you win and you give in (…) what we have just begun is to begin to sit down, what would we be negotiating, the only thing we said is we are going to meet and you are going to show me your offer, I am going to show you my offer and we are going to start discussing”, explained
Clouthier said that they have already met with Concamin and other business associations, so communication will remain open.
In its statement, Concamin said that Mexico is more competitive than South Korea. The difference is that the Asian country is close to “the largest warehouse of subsidized materials in the world, which is China.”
According to the industrialists, Mexico must bet on the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada, and not risk its implementation. “The negotiation of an FTA with Korea takes us away from the ideal of the T-MEC and the reconstruction of regional value chains.”
At Concamin they are convinced that the Mexican government will take the necessary time to carry out an “exhaustive analysis of all the aspects involved in a decision such as a free trade agreement with South Korea.
“Let us not forget, the urgency belongs to our counterpart, they are the ones who need Mexico to re-enter the US market,” said Concamin.
