How Trump’s Nafta Threats Are Bringing Mexico and China Together
- Pena Nieto set to meet with Xi during Nafta talks next week
- Mexico has been looking to diversify trade away from America
Trump Threatens to Quit Nafta Again, But Talks Continue
Donald Trump’s repeated threat to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement could bring a little bit closer together the two U.S. partners who he’s complained about most: Mexico and China.
At first glance, the two are more natural competitors than allies. Both thrive on cheap labor and assembling products to sell to consumers in wealthier nations. When China comes looking to buy goods from Latin America, it’s usually commodities to fuel its own boom -- iron ore from Brazil or copper from Chile -- rather than finished products from Mexico. Yet they find themselves on the same side of the globalization argument -- opposite the U.S. -- advocating more trade as the pathway to growth.