Texas Observer – In 2015, Texas traded more than $176 billion worth of goods with Mexico (compared to only $71 billion for California). A steep tariff would raise prices for consumer goods, including cars, fruits and vegetables. And a trade war could tank employment too: In the Lone Star State, more than 380,000 jobs depend on trade with Mexico.
Category Archives: Trade
U.S. dairy farmers worry about trade to Mexico
AP – U.S dairy farmers already struggling with low milk prices worry President Donald Trump’s talk of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement could harm trade to Mexico, its biggest export market.
About 15 percent of dairy production in the United States is exported with one-third valued at $1.2 billion going to Mexico in the form of milk powder, cheese and whey protein.
http://www.reformer.com/stories/dairy-farmers-worry-about-trade-to-mexico,504673
Mexico sees swift Nafta rewrite as Trump eases rhetoric
Bloomberg – Mexico’s top trade negotiator said he was heartened by a retreat from more protectionist rhetoric in the U.S. and that talks to redo the North American Free Trade Agreement may conclude as soon as January. Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the January date would depend on the administration of President Donald Trump notifying Congress in time for negotiations to begin by the end of July.
15% steel tariff imposed on non-FTA countries
Reuters – Mexico has extended until October a 15 percent tariff on 97 separate steel products imported from countries with which it does not share a free trade agreement, including China, the official government gazette said on Thursday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-steel-idUSKBN17830T
Mexico eyes duty-free corn deal to counter Trump
Financial Times – Mexico, the world’s biggest buyer of US corn, is considering offering duty-free access to Brazilian and Argentine maize as an alternative to American imports in a move that could have big consequences for US farmers worried about Donald Trump’s trade and tax agenda.
https://www.ft.com/content/850a886c-108c-11e7-b030-768954394623
Foreign minister says Mexico is willing to walk away from Nafta talks
By Andrew V. Pestano / UPI
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said that if North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations don’t benefit all parties involved, the country is willing to “step away” from it.
In an interview with Bloomberg, he said pulling out of NAFTA would be a last resort.
“If what is on the table is something that is not good for Mexico, Mexico will step away from NAFTA,” Videgaray said.
“Both parties have leverage with each other. The questions is: Can you pull your leverage without hurting yourself? Probably not. We’re not approaching this in that sense. It should be a constructive process,” he added.
Videgaray said Mexico’s relationship with the United States goes beyond trade; it already affects the politics of Mexico ahead of a presidential election in which NAFTA could be a wedge issue.
Mexico will hold presidential elections in 2018. During an interview with Bloomberg, Videgaray said he anticipates negotiations between Mexico, Canada and the United States over NAFTA could begin in the summer.
When asked if negotiations could begin later and spill over into 2018, during Mexico’s presidential cycle, and make relations with the United States and trade a key issue, Videgaray said those issues are the reasons the Mexican and U.S. governments must work constructively.
“That’s something that goes beyond trade, is the way that Mexico feels about the U.S., and that’s why I think it’s so important to work constructively, in good faith, work closely toward getting a good understand and a good deal for both sides,” he said.
The food and farm fallout from a possible Trump trade war with Mexico
By Christina Cooke / Civil Eats
The menu at Centro, a popular Mexican restaurant in downtown Raleigh, N.C., relies on avocados, lemons, limes, and cheeses like queso fresco and cotija imported from Mexico. Since election day, Centro owner and chef Angela Salamanca, like many restaurateurs across the country, has grown increasingly nervous as she’s watched the Trump administration pursue a hostile stance toward Mexico on issues related to trade.
“… If there’s a tax imposed on Mexican products, we’ll be in serious trouble, and not just for our food, for our Mezcal, too. We would have to reconfigure our business. What would our offering be if we couldn’t have access to the necessities of Mexican cuisine?” Salamanca said.
Behind Canada, Mexico is the largest supplier of agricultural goods to the United States, selling $21 billion worth of food to Americans in 2015, including $4.8 billion in fresh vegetables, $4.3 billion in other fresh fruit, $2.7 billion in wine and beer, and $1.4 billion in processed fruit and vegetables.
Because U.S. agriculture is so intertwined with the Mexican economy, the U.S. has a lot to lose in a trade war. As do American eaters: A full 93 percent of the Hass avocadoes in the U.S. come from Mexico, as well as 71 percent of the tomatoes and 15 percent of the sugar. Additionally, the U.S. imports 79 percent of its neighbor’s exported tequila.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration is taking an aggressive stance toward its southern neighbor.
Days after his inauguration, the Trump team floated the idea of a 20 percent tax on imports from Mexico as a way to pay for the wall. House Republicans have proposed a different idea, a “border-adjustment” tax on imports.
The president has also voiced his intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta). If he can’t renegotiate the agreement to get a “better deal” for the American worker, the president has threatened to withdraw completely.
Ben Lilliston, the director of corporate strategies and climate change with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, points out that the administration, which still does not have a Department of Agriculture head in place, is not paying much attention to the needs of farmers as it thinks about trade policy.
“When you go after manufacturing, agriculture and food get hit in the crossfire of that trade fight,” Lilliston said. And, he adds, “Agriculture is probably the most sensitive topic in any trade negotiation, because it’s about food security.”
http://civileats.com/2017/03/21/the-food-and-farm-fallout-from-a-trade-war-with-mexico/
U.S. pork farmers caution Trump on Mexico trade war
VOA – Farmers in the U.S. agricultural heartland who helped elect Donald Trump are now pushing his administration to avoid a trade dispute with Mexico, fearing retaliatory tariffs that could hit over $3 billion in U.S. exports.
http://www.voanews.com/a/united-states-farm-interests-caution-trump-mexico-trade-war/3777751.html
Mexico threatens to ditch U.S. corn imports
ENCA – Mexico has identified a potential weapon in its trade wrangle with US President Donald Trump: lucrative yellow cobs of American corn. The Latin American nation imports billions of dollars’ worth of the yellow grain from the United States to feed its livestock. But with Trump pushing to shake up the countries’ trade ties, Mexico is now threatening to buy from elsewhere.
https://www.enca.com/money/mexico-threatens-to-ditch-us-corn-imports
Mexico threatens to ditch U.S. corn imports
ENCA – Mexico has identified a potential weapon in its trade wrangle with US President Donald Trump: lucrative yellow cobs of American corn. The Latin American nation imports billions of dollars’ worth of the yellow grain from the United States to feed its livestock. But with Trump pushing to shake up the countries’ trade ties, Mexico is now threatening to buy from elsewhere.
https://www.enca.com/money/mexico-threatens-to-ditch-us-corn-imports
Jaime Serra on why he doesn’t take Trump seriously
Marketplace – When the United States, Mexico, and Canada launched the negotiations for NAFTA, each nation sent a delegate to work out the details. Mexico sent Dr. Jaime Serra, the Minister of Trade and Industry there at the time. He joined Carla Hills from the United States and Michael Wilson from Canada. The trio worked together over several months to put together the deal. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked to Serra about his experience and what he sees for the future of NAFTA in the Trump administration. An edited transcript of the conversation follows.
https://www.marketplace.org/2017/03/20/economy/no-love-or-hate-for-trump-nafta-architect-says
Peso rises after Trump aide sees “opportunity” in Mexico
Financial Times – The Mexican peso pushed higher on Wednesday after Donald Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, issued upbeat remarks on the country, toning down the administration’s often heated rhetoric regarding America’s neighbor to the south.
https://www.ft.com/content/7aec84d3-97df-3c2b-8362-c03d8f2faed8
Mexico cancels sugar export permits to U.S.
Fox News – Mexico has canceled existing sugar export permits to the United States to avoid penalties in a dispute over the pace of shipments, a document seen by Reuters said, partly blaming the issue on unfilled positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Mexico to continue boosting trade with China
Xinhua – Mexico will continue to seek investment and export opportunities in China, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said. Mexico and China have “very important trade ties,” stressed Videgaray, “especially due to Mexico’s imports from China, (which amount to) nearly $70 billion.”
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2017-03/01/content_28396572.htm
Mexico register $3.29 billion Jan. trade deficit
WSJ – Mexico ran up a trade deficit of $3.29 billion in January, similar to the year-ago gap as oil prices rose from a year before, pushing up both exports and imports of petroleum. About 80% of Mexico’s exports go to the U.S.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-registers-3-29-billion-trade-deficit-in-january-1488206859
Canada won’t throw Mexico under bus
CBC – It might be too early to say where the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement will lead, but the foreign ministers of Canada and Mexico already agree they don’t want to sacrifice one relationship for another.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/nafta-mulroney-guajardo-freeland-1.3992043
Brazil, Argentina plan to boost trade with Mexico
Reuters – The leaders of Brazil and Argentina said on Tuesday they would pursue closer ties with Mexico and other Latin American nations alarmed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s promises to tear apart trade deals and build a wall to protect American jobs.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-argentina-mexico-idUSKBN15M2BK
Soros S.Am grain firm aims to step in with U.S. losses
FT – A South American farming company backed by investors including George Soros aims to sell grain to Mexico as it capitalizes on the country’s deteriorating trade relations with the US since Donald Trump’s arrival as president.
https://www.ft.com/content/6da964a8-ebd5-11e6-930f-061b01e23655
Mexico warns of global impact if Nafta collapses
Financial Times – The potential collapse of the Nafta economic bloc could have a huge global impact, Mexican officials have warned, as they prepare to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules amid fears Washington could torpedo the global trade body.
“I hope the world understands that what happens . . . [with the North American Free Trade Agreement is going to be very telling for the rest of the world,” Ildefonso Guajardo, Mexico’s economy minister, said.
https://www.ft.com/content/83b58b3e-e999-11e6-893c-082c54a7f539
Mexico pushes for trade deals with 6 countries
Radionz – The scramble to salvage free trade deals in the wake of the collapsed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) has started, with Mexico wanting a free trade deal with New Zealand and five other countries: Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/323744/mexico-pushes-for-free-trade-deal-with-new-zealand