[OC] Mexiko verdrängt China als wichtigsten Handelspartner der USA.

Vehicles make up Mexico’s largest export category, as both regional and international firms use the country’s great trade terms and ideal geographic location.

Given this level of export activity, as well as Mexico’s famously hard-working and resourceful labor force, it should be no surprise that just last August the country displaced China as the number-one trading partner for the United States. With Canada maintaining a solid second place, this shift reflects a growing trend in the US away from China and towards more traditional trading partners closer to home.

While by no means this reflects an actual decoupling of the intertwined economies of the US and China, a few things have spelled trouble for the commercial relationship of the world’s two largest superpowers. Trade disputes and increased geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing have played their part, especially since the imposition of sweeping US tariffs in 2018, as has a general slowdown in China’s economic growth.

Then there are the supply chain disruptions seen throughout the years of the pandemic and afterwards, as crises from Eastern Europe to the Middle East have made investors and business leaders increasingly cautious. And though trade is rarely a zero-sum game, the past few years have demonstrated that Mexico has more to gain than perhaps anybody from this new trend prioritizing nearby trading partners and allies—what’s often called nearshoring or ally-shoring.

**Source:** [https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html](https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html)

**Tools:** Figma, Rawgraphs