China Overtaken by Mexico as Leading Goods Exporter to US
(5 February 2024 – United States) For the first time in twenty years, Mexico surpassed China as the leading source of goods imported by the United States.
The shift reflects the rapidly building trade tensions between the US and China as the US reverts to “nearshoring” and “friendshoring” as part of a concerted shift towards China Plus One in global supply chains. The last time Mexican goods imported by the United States exceeded the value of China’s imports was in 2002.
“The biggest drops in Chinese imports were in computers, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, all politically sensitive categories. The drop in US reliance on Chinese goods partly reflects wariness of Beijing’s economic policies under President Xi Jinping” commented American Enterprise Institute China Specialist, Derek Scissors.
“Xi’s draconian COVID-19 lockdowns brought significant swaths of the Chinese economy to a standstill in 2022, and his officials have raided foreign companies in apparent counterespionage investigations. I think it’s corporate America belatedly deciding Xi Jinping is unreliable”
Subscribe