Farid Hannan, director general of the North American Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) , indicated that the Government of Mexico is doing everything possible to maintain a competitive North American region, in the face of threats of 25% tariffs on Mexican products by the United States.
“We believe that tariffs are only a self-destructive tool that would strengthen, in relative terms, other regions in the world. We will continue to advocate for maintaining the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (T-MEC),” he stressed.
At the Foreign Trade Congress. Globalization, Trade Agreements and Geopolitics: Impact on Business Growth , organized by Concanaco Servytur , Hannan pointed out that China has been mentioned a lot lately. “If you read the executive order, the three executive orders published by the President of the United States, Donald Trump , put Mexico and China in the same paragraph.”
He said that the above is a narrative that is very strong in the United States, especially in Washington, and can be harmful, “because let’s say that we are a bit in the middle, and the narrative is that China has a very important presence in Mexico.”
The reality is different from what is reported in the American media, he pointed out, and said that of the total investment that China makes in North America, 95% goes to Canada and the United States and less than 5% goes to Mexico.
In this regard, he pointed out that it is not that Mexico does not want investment or trade with China, “but it is one thing that they are using Mexico as a way to enter the United States and that there is an exorbitant investment, and another thing is not wanting business from that Asian country.”
He recalled that the same thing happened in 2019 as in 2025 with the threat of tariffs if illegal migration was not stopped, and pointed out that because of that precedent, we already know how to negotiate with Trump’s team, since we have the advantage of knowing it.
On another topic, the official said that the SRE offers support to promote products and services offered abroad. “We have representations practically all over the world. We have a consular network, the largest in the world in the United States.”
He said that in order to facilitate foreign trade, samples of products can be sent to other countries via diplomatic bag to reduce costs, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
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