Source: Sputnik Mundo
What it’s about: The article comments on the possible effects of a trade war between the U.S. and Mexico, mentioning recent U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico and other allies and describing the series of retaliatory tariffs that have been introduced by Mexico on U.S. products. It also talks about the renegotiation of NAFTA and includes details of the effects that could be seen in Mexico’s northern states as well as U.S. states that heavily trade with Mexico and have been subject to certain targeted tariffs by Mexico. Most important, the article explores the potential advantages for Russia as a result of a weakend U.S.-Mexico trade relationship and portrays Russia as a viable economic partner for Mexico.
What’s misleading about it: Russia imports more than double the goods from Ecuador than it does from Mexico. Mexico is Russia’s third largest export market in the Americas (after Brazil and the U.S.), but the relationship is not reciprocal, even after we strip out the U.S. from Mexico’s top export destinations. Mexico’s economic relationship with Russia is negligible; less than 1% of Mexico’s exports to Europe go to Russia, putting the country behind Switzerland as an export destination for Mexican products. This could of course change, especially if Mexico’s economic relationship with the U.S. is altered as a result of trade renegotiations, but Sputnik Mundo’s article wrongly portrays Russia as a prominent trade partner for Latin America’s second largest economy.