Although USA is the world’s number two exporter with global shipments valued over four times higher than those for fifteenth-place Mexico, that doesn’t mean that Mexico is devoid of competitive advantages doing business with its bigger international trade rival.
Sure, USA maintains many profitable relationships encompassing a wide range of goods that it ships to its Mexican customers due to historical relationships and technological excellence. Less well-known is the fact that Mexico still enjoys significant trade product strengths that result in counterbalancing positive cashflows from USA, albeit from a smaller set of products.
USA Top 10
American Product Advantages Versus Mexico
Below are the top 10 goods for which USA enjoyed a higher dollar value from its exports to Mexico after subtracting what it spent on Mexican imports for those same types of products. Technically, a country’s exports minus imports is known as “net exports” which can be a positive amount (indicating a surplus) or a negative number (indicating a deficit).
- Processed petroleum oils: US$16 billion surplus win for USA
- Computer parts, accessories: $10.1 billion
- Integrated circuits/microassemblies: $4.9 billion
- Petroleum gases: $4.1 billion
- Engines (diesel): $2.3 billion
- Corn: $2.3 billion
- Cyclic hydrocarbons: $2.3 billion
- Ethylene polymers: $2.2 billion
- Copper ores, concentrates: $2.2 billion
- Soya beans: $1.8 billion
Among these, diesel engines (up 539.8%) and copper (up 143.9%) increased their net revenues for USA from export sales to Mexico by the highest percentages from 2012 to 2014.
Mexico Top 10
Mexican Product Advantages Versus USA
Unprocessed oil represents the number one export for which Mexico shows the strongest sales advantage compared to similar product exports from USA to Mexico. Vehicles actually account for a higher combined total, with Mexican trucks taking second place followed by Mexico’s car exports.
- Crude petroleum oils US$27.7 billion surplus win for Mexico
- Trucks: $18.1 billion
- Cars: $17.7 billion
- TV receivers/monitors/projectors: $9.9 billion
- Computers, optical readers: $9.3 billion
- Tractors: $6.8 billion
- Insulated wire/cable: $6 billion
- Seats (excluding barber/dentist chairs): $4.9 billion
- Phone system devices: $4.7 billion
- Automobile parts/accessories: $3.5 billion
The fastest-growing Mexican product win versus USA is automobile parts and accessories, posting a $3.5 billion surplus that represents a 235.9% gain compared to 2012.
Mexico’s edge over American tractors improved in value by 54.3% from 2012 to 2014.
The Winner Is
Final Scorecard for Trade War: United States Versus Mexico
Spearheaded by oil, vehicles and consumer electronics, Mexico earned an overall $53.8 billion surplus in its international trade with America during 2014.
From a more granular perspective, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule has 97 product categories at the two-digit summary level. USA held positive balances in 57 of those 97 categories (58.8%) for a $61.2 billion subtotal, led by the following:
- Plastics, plastic articles: $11.8 billion surplus win for USA
- Organic chemicals: $5.9 billion
- Cereals: $3.6 billion
- Aluminum: $3 billion
- Paper: $2.9 billion
- Meat: $2.9 billion
- Ores, slag, ash: $2.5 billion
- Other chemical goods: $2.4 billion
- Oil seed: $2.3 billion
- Iron, steel: $2.1 billion
These 10 product categories account for 90.8% of the total value of American product-specific surpluses trading with Mexico.
Mexico dominated the remaining 40 product categories subtotaling $115 billion in surplus, led by the following:
- Vehicles : $46.6 billion surplus win for Mexico
- Electronic equipment: $19.8 billion
- Furniture, lighting , signs: $7.4 billion
- Mineral fuels including oil: $6.6 billion
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $5.2 billion
- Gems, precious metals: $4.9 billion
- Vegetables: $4.8 billion
- Fruits, nuts: $3.7 billion
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar:$3.3 billion
- Clothing (not knit or crochet): $2.2 billion
The above categories represent 90.8% of the total value of Mexican product-specific trade surpluses gained at USA’s expense.
See also Mexico’s Top 10 Exports, Highest Value Mexican Export Products, US Major Product Supply Advantages and America’s Top Import Partners
Research Sources:
The World Factbook, Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on January 13, 2015
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on January 13, 2015
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on January 13, 2015
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