Last October, Mexico not only consolidated itself as the main trading partner of the United States, but also strengthened its export leadership towards the largest economy in the world.
According to data from the US Census Bureau, part of the Department of Commerce, published this week, in October Mexico exported to the US goods for 42 thousand 924 million dollars, record number for any month.
In October, Mexican exports to the US market grew 6.3 percent annually, which contrasts with the increase in Canadian exports of 5.5 percent and the contraction of Chinese exports of 5.5 percent.
With this, Mexico reached a share of total US goods imports of 15.5 percent, confirming itself as your main external supplierfollowed by China, with a share of 13.9 percent.
A year earlier, in October 2022, Mexico’s share of total US imports was 14.3 percent and China’s was 15.8 percent.
Thus, between 2022 and 2023, Mexico gained 1.2 percentage points in its share of US imports, while the Asian giant lost 1.9 percentage points.
In other words, Mexico gained 63 percent of the market share that China lost in total US goods imports in the last 12 months.
Another reading of the Census Bureau data tells us that in October Mexico consolidated itself as the US’s main trading partner, with a market share of 15.8 percent between exports and imports of total goods.
It surpassed Canada – the other partner in the T-MEC – with a share of 15.2 percent, as well as China with 11.2 percent.
Cumulatively, between January and October, Mexico also remained the main trading partner of our northern neighborwith an identical share of 15.8 percent, followed by Canadawhose trade also represents 15.2 percent in that ten-month period.
Mexico’s bilateral trade with the United States between January and October 2023 amounted to 672,589 million dollars, 2.6 percent higher than the same period of the previous year.
According to official data from the Department of Commerce, from January to October our country exported 399,176 million dollars in goods to the United States, practically 400 billion in 10 months.
So, the value of Mexican products sent to the US in the period analyzed touched 40 billion dollars per monthup from almost 38.2 billion in January-October 2022.
Mexico positioned itself as the main supplier of goods to the US market, with a share of 15.5 percent of the total, which has widened the gap with 13.9 percent of China and 13.6 percent of Canada.
In this case, Mexico also gained participation as the number one supplier of merchandise in the US, since during the first ten months of 2022 this was 14 percent.
It is not linear that what China loses in share in the US market, Mexico gains almost automatically.
In a broader review of figures, it is concluded that Mexico has won about a quarter of the market share that China has lost in US imports, due to the increase in trade tensions between the two powers.
But, recently, there has been a greater demand for Mexican goods and inputs, partly motivated by a substitution of Chinese products in the USwhich could be associated with the process of relocating companies in Mexico or nearshoring.
Mexico is not only consolidating itself as the US’s main trading partner, ahead of Canada and China, but it is also its main supplier of agricultural products, electronic inputs and vehicles.
This It would not be understood without the T-MECwhich came into force in July 2020 and deepened regional productive and commercial integration, becoming one of the most important economic engines of Mexico.
