The double side of business support for the USMCA
The Ministry of Economy released the results of its consultations to almost 3 thousand businessmen. The official message is of support for the trade agreement, of course. But between the lines, the document smacks of genuine concern.
The private sector values the agreement as a key piece for the country’s economic activity.
Sounds good, right? Until you read the fine print. Because the same people who applaud it are nervous about US tariffs, rules of origin and what they call ‘unfair trade practices’ in farm products.
Marcelo Ebrard, with that statesmanlike tone that he likes so much, said that this serves to ‘know who we have to ask’. Translation: we are mapping who is complaining and about what, before we sit down to negotiate in earnest.
What really keeps them up at night
The greatest fear has a name: dependence. Businessmen ask to reduce it compared to other regions of the world. Ebrard was more graphic: an annual review of the USMCA would be ‘the worst scenario facing Asia’.
The ghosts of the Trump era—steel and auto tariffs—are still on the table. And there is more: costly technical regulations, logistical infrastructure that cannot cope, and a technological transition that advances more slowly than a bureaucratic procedure.
Next week, Mexico sends equipment to Washington. The agenda is clear: rules of origin, supply chains and how to stem the tide of Asian imports. Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, insists on consensus to maintain the treaty.
But here comes the juicy fact: the report admits unequal use. The industrialized north takes immediate advantage; the south runs into structural walls. The national economy, divided as always.
The government covers its back quickly. Clarify that this only documents business perceptions, it is not an official position. Classic. But it cannot hide the harsh reality: more than 80% of our exports go to a single destination.
A vital treatise, yes. But with cracks that could cost us dearly if we don’t fix them soon.
