MEXICO CITY, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Protectionism is not the way to protect Mexico against recent blows to trade, Tourism Minister Enrique de la Madrid said on Monday.
As Mexico struggles to deal with the new protectionist trade policies of the United States, its biggest trade partner, it should refrain from adopting similar measures and instead work to boost trade ties with other countries, said De la Madrid.
"We are living in times of closed-mindedness and protectionism," the minister said during the inauguration of a business forum.
"The worst thing that could happen to us Mexicans would be to go with that trend, thinking that by closing ourselves off we are protecting ourselves," he said.
Mexico is in the midst of a "complex" renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States and Canada that may or may not conclude successfully.
Either way, "the solution is not to be closed-minded, the solution is not protectionism, the solution is the opposite, it is to open up more to the world, to open Mexico more to the world and connect more parts of our country with the outside," said De la Madrid.
As of June 1, the United States imposed steep tariffs on imported steel (25 percent) and aluminum (10 percent) from the European Union as well as Mexico and Canada, partners of the United States in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Last week, the Mexican government announced tariffs of between 15 and 25 percent on steel and agricultural products from the United States.
