The mercantile dimension of international relations now has —in the midst of globalization— an unprecedented weight. For countries like ours, who have strongly committed to free trade and have identi?ed in it a path to full development, the economic component of diplomacy is critical.
If Mexico wants to achieve sustained development that decisively contributes to reducing poverty and inequality, it needs a vision and—above all—a long-term policy. This article reviews the great historical stages of Mexican foreign trade, identifies achievements and failures of NAFTA’s final days, and proposes concrete measures to move towards a comprehensive foreign trade policy, which can go beyond foreign investment and the assembly of intermediate goods.
