Americas Quarterly - Winter 2012

Trade Competition from China OSVALDO ROSALES

FIGURE 5

Evolution of the Share of Chinese Imports: Selected
Countries (Colombia, Brazil and Mexico*), 2005 and 2010
(as a percentage of total apparent consumption)

2005 2010

25%

20%

15%

13%

10%

11%

5%

6% 7%

6%

2% 4%

1%

4%

0% 3%

1% 2%

0%

MACHINERY
AND
EQUIPMENT
OTHER
MANUFACTURES
ALL
MANUFACTURES
RUBBER
AND
PLASTICS
TEXTILES,
APPAREL
BASIC METALS
AND ME TAL
PRODUCTS
MOTOR
VEHICLES
AND PARTS
NON-
METALLIC
MINERALS

*Figure does not include Argentina. Source: ECLAC Division of International Trade and Integration, on the basis of information of countries’ input-output tables and the UN COMTRADE database

increase in imports of the most affected products, which reached an above-average annual growth rate. Imports from China increased by twice the rate of those originating in other countries ( 39 percent versus 18 percent).

Comparatively greater effects were observed in industries in Mexico, which experienced a bigger increase in apparent consumption in the share of imports from China, rising from 3. 3 percent to 6. 4 percent between 2005 and 2010. The most affected sectors were the textile and apparel industry, auto parts, industrial machinery and equipment, metals and derivatives, and other manufactures.

Mexican products with greater sensitivity to increased imports from China are antibiotics, seamless carbon steel, alloy steel pipes and chains, coaxial cable, carbon

102 Americas Quarterly WINTER 2012

electrodes, and various types of watches. Responding to the economic crisis of late 2008 and 2009, the demand for greater restrictions increased. 2 Nevertheless, Mexico applied few restrictive measures such as anti-dumping investigations. The growth rate of Mexican imports from China was almost five times higher than the import growth from other countries ( 21 percent versus 4 percent).

Our analysis of exports by destination as well as of imports by origin, with the inclusion of the effect caused by competition from China in third markets and in the domestic markets of the four selected countries, found that the same set of industrial sectors are affected by Chinese exports: office machinery, metal products, wood, pulp and paper, textiles and apparel, and foot wear.