The Ministry of Economy denied that Mexico is the trampoline for Chinese products to the United States.
“In the United States there is a schizophrenia regarding the subject of China,” said this Tuesday the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, at a press conference.
“It is said that Mexico is the springboard for Chinese products to the United States. And when one reviews the data, well, one is very impressed because it is a narrative that is practically in all U.S. producers or all U.S. businessmen and now it is starting in Canada as well,” added the official.
Trampoline for Chinese products
According to a report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the Chinese economy is a leader in manufacturing and exporting goods, and among these goods are solar panels and electric vehicles.
However, China’s export of excess capacity is prompting more aggressive reactions from its major trading partners. As a result, the United States, the European Union and other countries have imposed tariffs.
At the same time, economic uncertainty in China and rising geopolitical tensions are affecting foreign investment in that country. In addition, a shift in U.S. imports to Mexico, Vietnam and other economies indicates possible trade diversification away from China.
Chinese FDI
The same Commission indicated that due to the deliberate restructuring of supply chains to avoid U.S. tariffs, many imports from third countries still contain parts and materials that originate in China.
Gutierrez added that when the data is reviewed it can be shown that Mexico is not a springboard for Chinese products to the United States. He also pointed out that 70% of imports to Mexico from China are made by foreign companies.
Below is the Foreign Direct Investment from China to North America from 2016 to 2023, in millions of dollars:
- United States: 269,066.
- Canada: 124,640.
- Mexico: 1,684.
- North America: 395,390.
“The only thing the United States and Canada can reproach us for is that, inventing a narrative like China’s, but it is an invention because if we review from 2016 to date all Chinese investment in the United States, all Chinese investment in Canada and all Chinese investment in Mexico and compare it, the United States has 150 times more foreign investment than us,” Gutiérrez said.