The United States and China entered a trade war won by Mexico

The trade war of Trump Administration with China This resulted in a stroke of luck for another country that the US president frequently criticizes: Mexico.

Fuling Global Inc., a Chinese manufacturer of plastic utensils, has developed a lucrative business in the manufacture of paper cups and straws for restaurants in the United States. But the president Trump weighed in with US $ 250,000 million tariff on Chinese imports, including paper products. The company then found an alternative: to open a $ 4 million plant in Monterrey, Mexico, which will soon start shipping millions of paper straws across the border.

"We had to look for other ways to do businesssaid Gilbert Lee, CFO of Fuling, this change implies that the company based in Wenling, China, will avoid tariffs and will offset the high cost of Mexican labor by costs of money. lower shipping.Mexico is a very logical and convenient place for us"

Fuling is not alone. Mexico has made significant profits on its shipments to the United States. in the categories in which competing Chinese products were subject to customs duties, ranging from cardboard to air-conditioning parts. In total, US imports of products from Mexico increased by 10% to nearly 350 000 million USD last year, the fastest growth in seven years. This has contributed to widening the US trade deficit. with Mexico between 15% and more than 80 billion US dollars. At the same time, the increase in shipments from China has slowed by about a third.

The Mexican bonanza highlights the difficulty of trying to win a trade war in which companies can change their production or find new sources to avoid tariffs. Despite Trump's promise to reduce it, US trade deficit for goods worldwide hit a record US $ 891 billion last year while tax cuts increased the demand for imports and retaliatory tariffs weighed on US exports. Due to the anticipated attacks of Trump in Mexico for taking jobs in the United StatesAll this is ironic for observers, such as industry consultant Alan Russell.

"This is a case of unforeseen consequencessaid Russell, executive director of Tecma Group, a company that helps companies open and manage factories in Mexico.The interest has never been greater for 35 years, has it? any company that manufactures China He received an alarm signal. "

"Many people relocate their production to Mexico"said Amanda Walker, director of operations for Taskmaster Components, a company that has been importing large wheels and tires from China for nearly 20 years, with proximity, port access and a hand-to-hand approach. Well-formed work makes everything relative Mexico is attractive. "