Free trade and economic stability do not, by themselves, guarantee success.
Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal
Mexico's government has made a strong commitment to boosting the country's competitiveness in global trade, and the Ministry of Economy recognizes that trade facilitation is a key element in achieving this objective.
We have to start a process of looking at what's next after we complete the modernization effort.
The precondition to negotiating NAFTA is that we can't go back to the past.
I do believe that as the country becomes more attractive in the manufacturing sector, salaries can improve, and opportunities can expand.
There is an old tool that has become very handy that is called strategic patience, which is do not overreact in the short-term. Take your time. See what is the underlying, real message. And then, once the reality is represented by actions, then decide how you are going to react to those actions.
The U.S. is a sovereign nation, and if the U.S. decides to build a wall on the southern border, it's their sovereign decision. We may like it or not.
NAFTA is a trilateral agreement, and it would make a lot of sense to have trilateral discussions.
Toyota has 10 plants in the United States... and employs more than 130,000 Americans. If I were Mr. Trump, I'd treat them with more respect.
There won't be a law with sanctions, but Mexicans and Mexican consumers will know how to value those companies that are loyal to our national identity and those that are not.
NAFTA will continue to regulate the relationship between Mexico and Canada.
The list of traceability for some automotive components needs to be rethought for new technologies to send adequate signals about the strengthening of the value chains in North America.
I'm sure the apple guys from Washington state or the corn guy from Iowa will not like tariffs on corn or apples.
There is no one trade agreement in the world that has country-specific content. It doesn't exist. Content has to be measured regionally.
Mexico is very well positioned in the IT sector, thanks to our closeness to North America and how things are being developed in Silicon Valley.
Since we don't use any type of currency manipulation schemes - we have a floating exchange market - we are very glad to consider any type of process that would stabilize the Mexican peso.
If we have to talk to the devil to guarantee the safety and future of the Mexican people in the U.S., Mexico will talk to the devil.
A scenario without NAFTA is something we have to think about.
Since its enforcement, NAFTA has been more than a trade agreement. It has made us think of ourselves as a region.
The Pacific Alliance is an initiative to align our economies.
Let me first clarify that NAFTA is a trilateral agreement. The decision of walking away is not of Mexico or Canada. The decision of walking away is of the U.S.
If there is any action that punishes imports to the North American market and encourages U.S. exports, you have to reflect it in a mirror action to counteract the change of incentives that this would make for activity and investment in Mexico.
We believe more in bridges and making the border better.
NAFTA has been a great success for the three countries involved.
At the end of the day, we have to find a way to compete better with the world.
Opening the Pandora's box of tariffs will be an endless game, and it will be a lose-lose proposition.
It makes no sense to introduce an agreement with border restrictions or tariffs.
We have to find common grounds. NAFTA is 22 years old. We need to modernize it.
We understand U.S. position, but we have to find a way to make trade translate into better jobs in North America.
The end-to-end value chain analysis proposed by the World Economic Forum has proved to be useful methodology, not only to identify trade barriers but also to highlight the importance of coordination among public-sector institutions.
The next generation of entrepreneurs are already named Martinez or Sanchez.
The actions taken by the Cuban government with its new trade zone open up the potential of strategic investments from Mexico. Mexican companies are very excited.
You cannot set salaries by decree. At the end of the day, it doesn't work with the market. What you can make sure to do is to train workers in order to make them more efficient and demand higher salaries because of their qualifications.
One of the good things that's happening in manufacturing in Mexico is that the old maquiladora that was relegated to just assembling things has changed in different sectors. One of these sectors is the aerospace industry and in how we attract workers that have been in technical school.
If a private investor is raising his hand and saying, 'I don't have the conditions with which to work,' then the government has the responsibility to create those conditions.
If you throw obstacles at the relationship with Mexico, you would be shooting yourself in the foot.
E-commerce, telecom - those things have to be captured by the new NAFTA.
At the end of the day, we have obviously our own political realities that will not allow us to approve something that is not in the benefit of everybody.
We can be a very natural partner as a support base for Ireland to use Mexico to enter into the North American and South American markets and for Mexico, in turn, to really take advantage of Ireland as a gateway to the European markets.
I'm not going to negotiate with Brazil for its pretty face. I'm going to negotiate with Brazil because they're going to open their car-manufacturing market.
I can't come back home with an agreement that will not be a win-win-win situation for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
You know how it is: when you politicize things, it is not the best ingredient to get things done.
You cannot have an agreement... that gives a tailor's cut, a perfect handiwork, to a specific company.
Every challenge has the opportunity to convert into a winning proposition.
We are willing to consider any rebalancing as long as it's through trade expansion, not through trade restriction. As long as it's about how can we buy more from each other, we're willing to work that way.
We all know that China is not a free trader. That's the reality.
NAFTA, by itself, will not collapse. The possibility is that the United States leaves the treaty, but the treaty itself would keep regulating relations between Canada and Mexico.
We are fed up with complaints that Mexico is stealing jobs from U.S. manufacturing. We are part of the solution that has maintained competitiveness for the U.S. versus China.
We must ensure that decisions we make today do not come back to haunt us tomorrow.
