Mexico Must Define a Position For Its Relationship with the US & China: Enrique Dussel Peters
Mexican elites have for decades failed to keep pace with the global changes involving China.
Mexican elites have for decades failed to keep pace with the global changes involving China.
Without a policy aimed at increasing the productive investment rate to accompany the country’s reindustrialization process, trade barriers will be inefficient due to the rigidity of the productive structure.
The tariffs, announced by Mexico in December, were seen by analysts as an attempt to placate the United States, whose President levied significant tariffs on Chinese goods.
The lack of high-level dialogue between China and Mexico has eroded the possibility of effective coordination in multiple bilateral areas, particularly in foreign trade.
While it might have been argued until recently that countries like Brazil possess unparalleled geographical, historical, & economic advantages [compared to Mexico], Carney’s recent visit to China invalidates this interpretation.
In his view, Mexico’s national political and economic elite has failed to assume its responsibility to design a strategy toward China and Asia.
The government’s stated reasoning for anti-China tariffs rings hollow when considering the flood of cheap US imports destroying the Mexican countryside and production dominated by US corporations exploiting Mexican labour.
While Trump carries on a policy of aggression, China proposes to cooperate without interfering in the internal politics of its counterparts, while possessing the technological and financial capabilities to contribute to Latin America & the Caribbean’s sustainable development.
Under Article 32.10 of the USMCA, Mexico can only pursue a free trade agreement with a non-market economy like the People’s Republic of China if the US government approves.
Manufacturers reliant on Chinese inputs warned of rising costs, and lawmakers, including some from Morena, sought to avoid a dispute with a nation many consider crucial to Mexico’s trade diversification.