The Strategist

Mexican President calls for import substitution in North America



11/19/2021 - 09:36



Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, speaking at a trilateral meeting with US and Canadian leaders, suggested that President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly plan for production on the continent to ensure import substitution and thereby limit China's dominance of the global market.



Robert Ashworth
Robert Ashworth
In particular, he noted that Canada, the US and Mexico account for 13% of the global market, while China dominates with 14.4%, compared with 1.7% of China and 16% of North America in 1990. "If the trend of the last decade continues for another 30 years, by 2051 China will hold 42% of the world market and we - the US, Mexico and Canada - will retain 12%, which in addition to being an unacceptable economic imbalance would maintain the temptation to bet on resolving this disparity by force. This would put us all at risk," the politician said.

In his view, the region has everything it needs to strengthen its economy, including a young and trained workforce, technological development and natural resources. There was, however, the problem of a shortage of domestic goods, which made imports necessary.

At the same time, Lopez Obrador stressed that the US and Canada, facing labour shortages, should stop holding back the arrival of migrants and instead examine labour demand and open up an orderly flow of migration.

source: reuters.com