IMF Working Papers

Relocation of Global Value Chains: The Role of Mexico

By Francisco Arizala, Tomohide Mineyama, Hugo Tuesta

September 12, 2025

Download PDF More Formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy
More formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Francisco Arizala, Tomohide Mineyama, and Hugo Tuesta. "Relocation of Global Value Chains: The Role of Mexico", IMF Working Papers 2025, 180 (2025), accessed September 13, 2025, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229024754.001

Export Citation

  • ProCite
  • RefWorks
  • Reference Manager
  • BibTex
  • Zotero
  • EndNote

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

The paper documents recent changes in trade flow dynamics between Mexico, the U.S. and China, focusing on the period around 2017-2023. Using product-level bilateral trade data, the paper studies recent trends in the composition of the origin of U.S. imports, notably that a reduction of imports from China has been accompanied by an increase in imports from Mexico and other trading partners in Asia. The paper also documents that while Mexican exports to the U.S. have significantly increased in recent years, Mexico is also importing more from the U.S. and various countries in Asia, consistent with Mexico’s deeper integration into global value chains. Furthermore, the paper presents evidence that FDI flows to Mexico since 2017, predominantly originated from the U.S., have increased more in economic sectors affected by the U.S. tariffs on imports from China, and that they have been mainly directed to regions in the North with well-established manufacturing networks with the U.S.

Subject: Balance of payments, Exports, Foreign direct investment, Global value chains, Globalization, Imports, International trade, Tariffs, Taxes, Trade balance

Keywords: Exports, Foreign direct investment, Foreign direct investment, Geoeconomics, Global, Global value chains, Imports, Mexico, Tariffs, Trade balance, Trade diversion

Publication Details

You May Also Be Interested In...

Revisiting the Tax Wedge in Bosnia and Herzegovina

September 12, 2025

Guatemala: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Guatemala

September 12, 2025

Tuvalu: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Tuvalu

September 12, 2025

Patterns of Invoicing Currency in Global Trade in a Fragmenting World Economy

September 12, 2025