Mexico may be the junior partner in NAFTA, but it is still the second-largest economy in Latin America, making it an attractive trade partner. The country’s deputy trade minister, Juan Carlos Baker, told Reuters that a trade agreement with Argentina involving cars and agricultural products could be completed by the end of this year.
Discussions began last year and Mexico sent a team of negotiators to Buenos Aires this week to continue negotiations. Baker told the news agency that Mexican imports of U.S. corn and soybeans are likely to decrease under a renegotiation of NAFTA. “The Argentine [food and ag] exporters could find attractive conditions in Mexico,” said Baker. Mexico, in turn, could export cars to Argentina.
At present, Mexico ships 80 percent of its exports to the United States. Mexico is the No. 3 market for U.S. farm exports and a leading customer for corn, soybeans, pork, and dairy.