Twenty years after the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, cross-border ties are becoming increasingly important to manufacturing on the continent. It’s part of a trend of growing economic integration between the United States and Mexico....The Mexico Institute's Christopher Wilson comments.
These days, some six million American jobs depend in some way on trade with Mexico, according to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Mexico Institute.
“Mexico is moving up the value-added chain,” said Christopher Wilson, of the Woodrow Wilson Mexico Institute. “Before, industries like textiles and shoes were very important for Mexico. We are now seeing growth in sectors like the automotive industry and aerospace. These are things that require a greater amount of skill, a greater number of engineers.”
The number of aerospace jobs supplying the global industry has tripled in Mexico in the past six years. Some analysts say that growth could have benefits for the entire continent, since it will generate a demand for supply chains that Canadian and American companies can likely tap into.
“The reality is that we in North America -- Mexico the United States, and Canada, included -- are all competing together as one economic unit in this global economic environment that is increasingly competitive,” Wilson said. “Instead of being competitors, we are really partners in the global economy.”
The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute. Read more
