In the early 1970s, Argentina joined a group of Latin American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela, that initiated diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. The change of course in Argentine foreign policy, which until then had exclusively recognised Taiwan, marked the beginning of a new era in bilateral relations and regionalised a process of opening up to Asia.
Evidence shows that the US needs to catch up with China regarding technology. A list by Professor Allison of Harvard University in a book published by the Aspen Institute in 2020 shows seven sectors lagging. In January 2024, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute published a report detailing the lag in 9 sectors and 64 sub-sectors. In response, President Trump's administration placed tariffs on products of Chinese origin starting from March 2018. President Biden extended it and designed an import substitution policy to catch up with the leader.
The trade war between the US and China began in March 2018 and intensified with new semiconductor tariffs in 2024. The US has pressured Mexico to reduce its ties with China and strengthen them with North America, as it did with the signing of the T-MEC. The renegotiation of T-MEC in 2026 will introduce new conditions. The pressure turned to applying tariffs on 99 per cent of Chinese imports. This article will analyse Mexico's position in the trade war between the two great powers.
Despite the change of government in the U.S., the policy and actions taken with respect to Chinese technological containment remain intact, and international pressure continues to prevent Chinese companies from installing their digital transition technology.
The technology war and U.S. fears have had a marginal impact on the Asian giant's relations with Latin America. Some countries have bowed to Washington's pressure against the use of 5G, but most continue to negotiate its implementation.
The challenges that Latin America must overcome to put this technology into operation relate to the lack of infrastructure and the size of the investment.
The change in the energy matrix plays a fundamental role in the development of the trade war. Photovoltaic cells and solar panels have been subject to various US sanctions as a tool against Chinese expansion in this sector.
The Chinese government, on the other hand, has launched a plan to generate renewable energies on a massive scale, and considers innovation and the search for alternative energy sources as strategic emerging industries.
In Latin America there are large projects such as Cauchari in Jujuy, Argentina, in Chihuahua, Mexico, as well as in Chile and other countries
The US launched a tariff war, from 2018, against the most dynamic export economy: China. The aim was not only to reduce the trade deficit with this economy, but also to weaken its economic growth dynamics and reduce its growing share in the export market. However, the result has not favoured the US and has been adverse to the multilateral international order.
After 23 months of war, 7 rounds of mutual tariff aggression, more than 15 thousand products taxed, 600 billion dollars in tariffs and two periods of truce the two economies entered into a first agreement.
With this Agreement and the new NAFTA the United States advances in the construction of a new international commercial order on the law of the strongest.
The President of the United States has sabotaged the appointment of judges to the WTO Court of Appeals itself. With that, the body ceased to exist for the practical purposes of the case.
Closing the WTO courts makes sense for the country against which there are more complaints from more countries, and which also does not believe in free trade. The trade war no longer has any brakes. Neither China, nor anyone else, has a place to complain
This is a state decision that accompanies the trade war and favours its companies, but also allows it to fight its weakened commercial hegemony.
global currency, and much of the dominance in the microprocessor industry, through Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. China, on the other hand, has significant strategic advantages in telecommunications with the 5G network and the Huawei company.
The global semiconductor industry is concentrated in a few firms and a few countries. Although the manufacturing link in the semiconductor chain is in Asia, the licensing, intellectual property and production segments of the semiconductor value chain do not pass through China.
The Asian country has begun work towards chip manufacturing autonomy, which can be consolidated using reverse engineering. It is inevitable that the Asian country will develop an autonomous and competitive semiconductor industry and thus reduce its backwardness vis-à-vis the United States.
The change in the world energy matrix plays an important role in the trade war and the dispute for hegemony. While the US wants to conserve oil as an energy source, China is pushing the switch to clean energy at lower prices on the world market.
In this context, lithium plays an important role, as the main input for batteries, including those for electric cars.
South America is a disputed territory now fostered by lithium as a strategic resource, as was the saltpeter that led to a war in the nineteenth century.
The commercial war waged by the U.S. against China is taking place in a scenario of technological backwardness in the areas of telecommunications, energy, electric cars, cell phones and computers against China.
The U.S. began to lose market share in the global high-tech market in the 21st century and concentrated on completing its global value chains to increase profitability. In 2018, China exported three times the value of these exports to the United States and more than ten times that of European countries.
The imperative need for the US to interfere with China's deployment is growing, and the protectionist trade route has not worked. Everything seems to indicate that the war is going to move to the exchange and financial field.
