Agustín Carstens: US-Mexico trade relationship in the age of NAFTA

Remarks by Mr Agustín Carstens, Governor of the Bank of Mexico, at the Mission Foods Texas-México Center 1st Annual Event, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, 6 April 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
12 May 2017

1. Introduction

I would like to start by thanking Mission Foods Texas-México Center at SMU for having invited me as a keynote speaker at this First Annual Texas-México Conference. It is a real honor and privilege for me. This event provides a timely opportunity to discuss the significance and benefits that efforts for regional integration have had for México and the United States.

In my remarks tonight I will pay special attention to providing an overview of the benefits that NAFTA and trade in general have brought to the region. In particular, I will argue that NAFTA has allowed member countries to boost growth and to attain important productivity and efficiency gains that have led to welfare improvements for both producers and consumers across the whole region. Furthermore, to the extent that we live in a very competitive global economy, NAFTA has meant that the North American region is better prepared to compete with the rest of the world.