Biden’s Infrastructure Plan: Opportunity for Mexico’s Recovery

Biden's infrastructure plan could represent a new opportunity for Mexico to regain its position as the US's main trading partner. “Once the infrastructure plan comes into force, Mexico could take advantage of its proximity to increase its exports and become the US's main trading partner once again. The opportunity opens up a commercial advantage over China,” Eugenio Salinas, President of the Foreign Trade Commission of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN), told La Razón. Salinas also stressed that Mexico will play an essential role in Biden’s strategy, especially for the export of high value-added construction goods: steel, aluminium and cement. “There is a great opportunity for us to become the top trading partner of the US again and this program could help us regain that position,” Salinas added.

In addition to boosting economic recovery north of the border, Biden’s plan would allow Mexico to increase its exports, which would have a very positive impact on the automotive and manufacturing industries. “More than becoming the No. 1 trading partner, the most important thing is to continue increasing our presence in the US,” Fernando Ruiz, Director General of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE), told Expansión.

Valued at US$2 trillion and focused on building and renovating roads, ports, airports and federal facilities, Biden’s plan seeks to broaden the workforce base and regain US influence in the global economy without losing sight of the ecological transition. The plan will be financed through taxation. “We are the richest country in the world, but we only rank 13th among countries with the best infrastructure,” Biden explained during a White House press release. Another major goal of Biden’s plan is to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, which will involve a US$174 billion investment to provide tax incentives to end users and the construction of 500,000 charging stations by 2030, according to CNN.

Biden’s plan comes at a complicated time in the US-Mexico trade relationship, as reflected in the ‘Barriers to Foreign Trade 2021’ report recently presented by Katherine Tai, US Government Trade Representative. “US exporters continue to express concerns about Mexico’s customs administrative procedures, including insufficient advance notice of procedural changes, inconsistent interpretation of regulatory requirements at different border posts and uneven border enforcement of Mexican standards and labeling rules,” the report states.