Posted on 05/22/2007 7:29:42 AM PDT by hedgetrimmer
India and Mexico are all set to sign a bilateral investment protection agreement (BIPA) today that will enable India Inc to access North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)- a trading block comprising of Mexico, the US and Canada.
The agreement, for which the Union Cabinet gave its approval on May 18, is expected to be signed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram and the visiting Mexican Finance Minister M Eduardo Sojo Garza-Aldape, sources said.
Mexico, being part of NAFTA and having a large number of important partners including the EU, offers good opportunity to Indian companies and enhanced market access through investments and joint ventures, said an official source.
NAFTA, created in 1994, has become a powerful trade body with strong trading relations with European, African and Latin American markets.
Over the years, India has maintained good relations with Mexico. Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased to USD 1.5 billion from USD 251 million in 1999.
Among others, Indian exports to Mexico are engineering goods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, and textiles, while Mexican exports to India are dominated by crude and petrochemicals.
Mexico's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated at USD 768 billion and per capita is around USD 8,000.
Investors of Indian origin have pumped in over USD 1.6 billion over 60 business ventures in Mexico, apart from recent joint ventures in pharmaceuticals and IT sectors by Indian companies.
The fruits of NAFTA. Since India thinks we don’t allow enough of them in on H1b visas, they’ll use influence in Mexico with NAFTA to override the will of the American people, and further erode our domestic economy.
Doesn't Mexico have a large manufacturing base ?
good news, cheaper prices for US consumers!
Do they really call themselves that? Smells like turpentine, to me.
And cheaper prices for labor... Yay /sarc
:)
No, they are imporing cheaper goods from China. Mexicos 'manufacturers' are all in the USA!
Yes they do...
“good news, cheaper prices for US consumers!”
HooRay! Cheaper is very seldom the way to go if you want any kind of quality. India and China make JUNK. China makes junk and adds a little poison for good measure.
Many of the products these days are made out of computer-controlled machines, with only assembly being the labour-intensive part of the whole manufacturing sequence, which, in itself, would be at the most as challenging as running a power screwdriver to fasten four screws. Ever seen some of the new computer products? Barring the ‘Made in _____’ engraving at the back, there’s very little chance you’d be able to guess accurately where the product was made. The quality is the same everywhere, because the machines that made them, are same too.
Of course for the low-cost stuff, it probably doesn’t hold true. But the ‘high-end’ goods are fast becoming low-cost too.
I have to disagree. China, in particular, has been moving towards using inferior parts and trying to beat quality standards tests. (not to mention counterfeits)
They might have the same machines but, don’t expect it to work as well or last as long.
Kind of puts globalization in a different light when countries cut corners at the expense of the customer.
well, then don’t buy it.
“The fruits of NAFTA. Since India thinks we dont allow enough of them in on H1b visas, theyll use influence in Mexico with NAFTA to override the will of the American people, and further erode our domestic economy.”
They just didn’t spend enough in bribes.
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