Mexico exports more than avocados and tequila

If the United States imposes a border tax on Mexican imports, it’s not just tequila, beer and avocados that would jump in price.

Mexico is the world’s leading exporter of refrigerators and flat-screen TVs. Cars and trucks such as the Ram 1500 crew cab, Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Trax fill U.S. dealer lots. Mexican berries, vegetables and beef born south of the border abound at American supermarkets.

It is an amazing state of affair for a country that, as late as the 1980s, basically exported just oil – a country transformed by embracing the open markets promoted by its U.S. neighbor.

“In just three decades, we changed from an economy that was basically exporting raw materials…. Eighty percent of our exports were oil,” President Enrique Pena Nieto said at a ceremony promoting made-in-Mexico goods this week. “Back then, we were rather uncompetitive, and we would have a hard time competing (abroad) with the products produced here.”

Pena Nieto had reason to crow: Even while Mexico’s oil production has fallen steadily, U.S. imports from Mexico increased 638 percent since 1993, just before the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.

The top-selling U.S. imports from Mexico in 2015 include $74 billion worth of cars, trucks and other vehicles, electrical machinery ($63 billion), machinery ($49 billion) and optical and medical instruments ($12 billion).

While the price-tag benefit to U.S. consumers is clear, critics complain the effect on U.S. workers has been dismal. A unionized auto worker in the U.S. can make $58 an hour in wages and benefits. By comparison, a Mexican auto assembly worker makes a little more than $8.

One of the most visible success stories has been in agricultural exports to the U.S., which totaled $21 billion in 2015, making Mexico America’s second largest supplier of agricultural imports. Mexico supplies about 77 percent of all avocados consumed in the United States, and about one-third of its tomatoes.

Mexico’s climate and very low agricultural wage rates give the country a huge advantage for many crops and former President Vicente Fox, whose family has long been involved in agriculture, has floated the idea of exporting another sort of crop to the U.S.: marijuana.

“Once it is legitimate and legal, of course. I’m a farmer, and I can do it once it is legal and approved as an industry,” Fox said.

The achievements leave many Mexicans cold. In many of the most successful categories – autos, appliances, TVs and mining – the dominant firms are foreign, and many of the components they assemble in Mexico are imported, in turn, from their home countries.

Mexico still does little of the research and design work.

“I have always been a critic of the fact there are no Perez cars in Mexico, no Ramirez in Mexico; they are all foreign firms,” said radio commentator Eduardo Ruiz Healy. “Oh well, that’s just the way it goes.”

But U.S. farmers have also benefited from the trade openings under NAFTA – the deal U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to re-negotiate.

“Market access under NAFTA has been a windfall for U.S. farmers, ranchers and food processors. U.S. food and agriculture exports to both countries (Mexico and Canada) have more than quadrupled, growing from $8.9 billion in 1993 to $38.6 billion in 2015,” some of the top U.S. agriculture companies wrote in an open letter to Trump in January.

For Mexico, any border tax or change in NAFTA would have an immediate effect on jobs, even in traditional economic sectors.

Silver, for example, is a historic Mexican export, one of the first Mexican products that the Spanish conquistadores sent back to Spain.

Mexico remains the world’s top producer of silver, though many of the mines are foreign owned and many worry about their effect on Mexico’s water supplies and land.

But mining – like farm work and assembly plants – provides decent wages for people with little education, often in states of Mexico where workers had previously been forced to emigrate.

Any additional taxes – border or otherwise – could hit employment in states that may also have to cope with returning migrants if U.S. President Donald Trump lives up to another pledge, to increase deportations.

When the state of Zacatecas passed a tax on mining companies earlier this year, mine workers blocked roads in protest.

“This directly affects production and employment, at a critical moment for Mexico and for Zacatecas, which is one of the states that would most be affected by the threat of massive deportations,” said mine union leader Carlos Pavon Campos.



Trending News on PVDN

  • <strong>Popocatépetl Volcano Exhibits Increased Activity; Yellow Phase 3 Alert Continues</strong>Popocatépetl Volcano Exhibits Increased Activity; Yellow Phase 3 Alert Continues PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - In the past 24 hours, heightened activity was recorded from Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano, with an alarming 315 exhalations detected, accompanied by water vapor, other volcanic gases, and ash, according to the Scientific Advisory Committee (CCA) of the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC). Monitoring systems in place around the active stratovolcano also…
  • Shocking Case of Animal Abuse in Mexico: Man Throws Dog into Boiling Fry OilShocking Case of Animal Abuse in Mexico: Man Throws Dog into Boiling Fry Oil PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - A disturbing incident of animal abuse has sent shockwaves throughout Mexico, as a man allegedly threw a dog into a pot of boiling oil, resulting in the animal's tragic death. Authorities have detained the suspect for the assault on the dog and have issued an additional arrest warrant on charges of…
  • 45 Bags of Human Remains Discovered in Jalisco45 Bags of Human Remains Discovered in Jalisco PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - A chilling discovery of 45 bags filled with human remains in a deep ravine in the El Mirador del Bosque neighborhood of Zapopan has escalated the search for seven missing youths last seen at a local call center. The Jalisco Attorney General's Office confirmed late Wednesday that the gruesome discovery was…
  • Two More Puerto Vallarta Beaches Are Awarded Blue FlagsTwo More Puerto Vallarta Beaches Are Awarded Blue Flags Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) - In the upcoming 2023-2024 season, Puerto Vallarta is set to host six beaches awarded with the Blue Flag accreditation, an esteemed international recognition for high environmental and quality standards. The Blue Flag committee has reconfirmed the status for four previously certified beaches while conferring this prestigious title to two new beaches…
  • 'Kingdoms of Mexico' Distinction Launches to Boost Tourist Destinations With European Influences‘Kingdoms of Mexico’ Distinction Launches to Boost Tourist Destinations With European Influences Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) - Miguel Torruco Marqués, the head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur), introduced the new 'Kingdoms of Mexico' distinction, a major initiative designed to enhance the appeal of Mexico's tourist communities on an international level. The announcement came during a presentation attended by the governors of Tlaxcala, Lorena Cuéllar Cisneros; Baja California,…
  • SEAPAL Vallarta Launches New Vallarta II Tank to Reinforce Drinking Water SupplySEAPAL Vallarta Launches New Vallarta II Tank to Reinforce Drinking Water Supply PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - SEAPAL Vallarta, the local water management authority, announced the successful integration and activation of the new Vallarta II Tank to its drinking water distribution system on Tuesday, May 30. This strategic addition is expected to enhance the availability of water in Vallarta homes, a pressing issue in the wake of the…
  • Investigation Continues Following Discovery of Skeletal Remains in Puerto VallartaInvestigation Continues Following Discovery of Skeletal Remains in Puerto Vallarta PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) – The mystery surrounding the discovery of skeletal remains in a rural area of Puerto Vallarta is yet to be resolved, according to State Prosecutor Luis Joaquín Méndez Ruiz. On his visit to Puerto Vallarta to participate in the Navy Day celebrations, the state prosecutor insisted the discovery is not a clandestine…
  • The Connection Between the Jalisco Cartel, Missing Employees at Call Center, 45 Bags of Body Parts, Timeshare Scams, and American TouristsThe Connection Between the Jalisco Cartel, Missing Employees at Call Center, 45 Bags of Body Parts, Timeshare Scams, and American Tourists PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - More than a week after the initial disappearance of eight young workers at a call center in Zapopan, Jalisco, the case continues to be shrouded in mystery, leaving families distraught and demanding answers. The Jalisco Prosecutor's Office has made little progress in the investigation, according to the relatives of the missing…
  • <strong>Puerto Vallarta Celebrates 105 Years as Municipality, 55 as City with Grand Anniversary Celebration</strong>Puerto Vallarta Celebrates 105 Years as Municipality, 55 as City with Grand Anniversary Celebration PUERTO VALLARTA (PVDN) - Puerto Vallarta, one of the nation's favorite tourist destinations, celebrated the 105th anniversary of its elevation to a municipality and its 55th year as a city with a solemn session held in the central courtyard of the city's presidency. Presiding over the commemorative event was Mayor, Professor Luis Alberto Michel Rodríguez,…
  • It's Getting a Little More Expensive for Americans Living in Mexico, Peso Surges to Over Seven-Year HighIt’s Getting a Little More Expensive for Americans Living in Mexico, Peso Surges to Over Seven-Year High Puerto Vallarta (PVDN) - The Mexican peso reached its highest level in more than seven years on Friday, June 2, driven by positive employment data from the United States. The country's stock market also experienced a notable rise as fears of a recession in the US diminished. At the close of trading, the peso was…

Compare Listings

Title Price Status Type Area Purpose Bedrooms Bathrooms