Six Asian suppliers to Mexico have become important trade partners in recent years.

The list of suppliers to Mexico has changed markedly over the course of the last fifteen years. Although the US and Canada are still Mexico’s primary commercial partners, the profile of nations like China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan has risen. For instance, Mexican imports originating in China saw an uptick of seventeen percent in 2015.

South Korea is a standout

South Korea, in particular, has become a prominent nation among the Asian suppliers to Mexico. In 2015, this important trading partner rose to become the fourth most important supplier to its main Latin American customer after The United States, Canada, and Japan. South Korea provided over fourteen and one-half billion dollars worth of items to Mexico during the last calendar year.

The principal reason why Asian suppliers to Mexico have gained in stature is that, over the years, they have become more reliable in terms of price, quality and delivery times. The countries, when taken together are important suppliers of intermediary products such as machinery used by manufacturers in Mexico. In contrast to an eighty-five percent of intermediary products, the percentage of consumer products that Asian suppliers to Mexico ship to its trade partner hovers around a much lower fifteen percent.

China’s prominence is increasing each year

Noteworthy is the prominence that China now enjoys as one of the major Asian suppliers to Mexico. In addition to a greater exchange with South Korea, Mexico has been more dependent upon goods shipped from China than has been the case over the last decade and a half, or so. In 2015, while, as mentioned above, Chinese imports consumed by the Mexican economy rose by a significant fifteen percent, or almost three billion dollars in real terms, Mexico sends a much lower dollar value of goods to China. Mexico’s trade deficit with China stands at a significant sixty percent.

From a broader perspective, the fact that Asian suppliers to Mexico have risen to take a more prominent position in Mexico’s global commercial relations is a positive thing. More imports from these countries will increasingly open up more avenues for Mexican exports. This will help Mexico of fulfilling one of its primary goals, i.e., reducing its dependence on commercial exchange with the United States.