Mexico Defends Blueberry Production
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Mexico Defends Blueberry Production

Photo by:   Elke Karin Lugert, Unsplash
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Sofía Hanna By Sofía Hanna | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Fri, 01/15/2021 - 13:08

In 2019, the Mexican blueberry industry exported US$291 million and gave jobs to approximately 60,000 people. In September 2020, there was an audit that involved the Ministry of Economy (SE) to revise if the exports of this product increased and if said rise could cause substantial harm or threat the US blueberry industry.

During the audit, the Ministry of Economy's stand was toward defending the rights and the products of Mexican producers. "The priority of the Ministry of Economy in this investigation is to ensure that the rights of Mexico, established in USMCA and the WTO, are respected, including the rights of exclusion, compensation and retaliation, among others. Likewise, Mexico reserves the right to receive compensation or apply a retaliation measure according to USMCA, as well as to challenge any protectionist measure before the appropriate commercial forums," stated the ministry in an official release.

The issue with a probable rise in production is that part of the agreements made for USMCA could potentially harm local producers due to imports into their territory. Luz María de la Mora, Mexican Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, stated that "far from representing a threat or harm, Mexican blueberry exports complement domestic production in the US, benefiting producers and consumers in both countries," reported Forbes.

According to a previous MBN article, Mexico achieved in 2020 a trade surplus. This positive growth in foreign trade represents good news to the country but it could also mean bad news for the local economy. "Having a large balance in favor of foreign trade is not good news. There are four actors in the economy: households, businesses, government and the foreign sector. If the latter has a surplus, then the other three have a deficit," says Macario Schettino, Professor of the School of Government at Tecnológico de Monterrey, in an article for the Financiero.

The commercial relationship between Mexico and the US stands at an uncertain spot at the moment due to the lack of clarity regarding trade policies with Mexico following Joe Biden’s win. Both countries are waiting for potential changes but so far, there are only assumptions, as mentioned in a previous MBN article. However, the Ministry of Economy made it very clear that it will defend Mexican producers at all costs throughout the process, given it is their right to keep producing and due to the number of families this industry is providing for, according to Forbes.

Photo by:   Elke Karin Lugert, Unsplash

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