"We are already the fourth largest cloud service in the region. Throughout this time, we have built a solid experience and aim to simplify the cloud-native journey and reach more industries in the region," Liu highlighted during his speech at the conference held in Rio de Janeiro.In 2021, Huawei invested more than 22,000 million dollars in R&D to continue innovating in different sectors such as health, environment, sales, economy, education, fintech or government.|XinhuaFrom digital commerce to education, from entertainment to environmental protection, from banks and financial institutions to artificial intelligence, from infrastructure to data banks, cloud technology is used in many fields of our lives and is transforming our society. and civilization.Like many other places in the world, Latin America has been increasingly taking advantage of cloud technology due to its benefits in reducing expenses, with greater security in data storage, greater team integration, and greater flexibility and dynamism, a process that has helped to accelerate the Chinese multinational Huawei.In an act of commemoration for the three years of Huawei Cloud in Latin America, the president for Latin America, Fernando Liu, assured that the company will inaugurate in 2023 two areas for the installation of data centers in Mexico and one in Chile."We are already the fourth largest cloud service in the region. Throughout this time, we have built a solid experience and aim to simplify the cloud-native journey and reach more industries in the region," Liu highlighted during his speech at the conference held in Rio de Janeiro.In 2021, Huawei invested more than 22,000 million dollars in research and development (R&D) to be able to continue innovating in different sectors such as health, environment, sales, economy, education, fintech or government.Speaking to Xinhua, Huawei's Vice President of Public Relations for Latin America and the Caribbean, Atilio Rulli, stressed that the company is the one that invests the most in the world for digital clouds in Latin America."The cloud produces an improvement in society, which ranges from the digital services of the government, which are of direct benefit to society, to digitization services in general that are supported by icloud. Today most documents are all digital ", he commented.He added that the service includes benefits not only for people, who no longer have to go to a public body to do paperwork, but also for companies, as the digital cloud allows a certain agility to implement digital services for their clients.As a Huawei Cloud customer and partner, Veritran, a global company that accelerates and simplifies the development of digital solutions through its low-code enterprise platform, shared its experiences at the event."Huawei is a global and super-strategic company for us, because it has a technological strength, with a lot of security, and it is very robust for us, which in our industry, which is regularized, allows us to provide a unique solution for the financial industry. ", Omar Arab, executive vice president of Corporate Business and in charge of Veritran's Global Alliances area, told Xinhua.With a global cloud structure installed in 29 regions connecting more than 170 countries, Huawei also announced this Wednesday the incorporation of new technologies to the Latin American network between 2022 and 2023, which will make it faster and more efficient.Some examples of this are the EWS, which facilitates and accelerates the migration of applications to the cloud, or the hybrid deployment and planning, which increases the speed of computing.The event also formally launched the Cloud Native Elite Club (LATAM), established jointly by Huawei and the Cloud Native Computing Foundation project for the exchange of the latest cloud-native technologies and practices, so that companies can better enjoy the benefits of technologies in and for the cloud.At the meeting, the foreign ministers agreed on Tuesday night to continue high-level joint work, based "on the consensus adopted during the visit that President Alberto Fernández made to China last February," according to the Foreign Ministry."We continue to work to streamline processes for opening new markets with China, our second largest trading partner and the second destination for Argentine exports," said Cafiero.|ReutersForeign Minister Santiago Cafiero held a working meeting with the State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi, with whom he analyzed our country's entry into the BRICS -which make up Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa- and other issues on the bilateral agenda.After the meeting in the framework of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York, Cafiero assured: "The Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, expressed his country's firm support for Argentina to enter the BRICS", in a message published on his Twitter account."We continue to work to speed up the process of opening new markets with China, our second largest trading partner and the second destination for Argentine exports"At the meeting, the foreign ministers agreed on Tuesday night to continue high-level joint work, based "on the consensus adopted during the visit that President Alberto Fernández made to China last February," according to the Foreign Ministry.Likewise, they highlighted "the excellent state of the bilateral relationship" within the framework of the current "Year of Friendship and Cooperation between Argentina and China", inaugurated by the presidents on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations that is commemorated during 2022. .In this sense, Cafiero stressed that it is "necessary to move forward in designing the next 50 years of the relationship, not only between China and Argentina but also with Latin America", by virtue of the pro tempore presidency of CELAC held by the country.Wang Yi remarked to Cafiero the firm support of his country for Argentina's membership in the BRICS group, in line with what was agreed between the group's leaders.The Argentine minister thanked the support and pointed out that the country "can contribute in this way to strengthening and expanding the voice in defense of the interests of the developing world and the global south, in a context of global uncertainty and polarization where it becomes essential to coordinate food and energy security policies.China is currently the second trading partner and the second destination for Argentine exports.The Argentine foreign minister also stressed the importance of Chinese capital investments in Argentina and that they can be expanded, highlighting the energy sector.In that sense, the official recalled that Argentina has the second largest unconventional gas reserves in the world and is the fourth largest producer of lithium globally.The ministers highlighted the value of the meeting of the mixed economic and commercial commission between the two countries held last August, where progress continued in the dialogue with China for the completion of infrastructure works within the framework of the "Memorandum of Understanding of the Initiative of the Economic Belt of the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century”.Cafiero especially recognized the Chinese support for the Argentine position on the Malvinas Question through his interventions as a member of the Special Committee on Decolonization, in particular the support expressed by his delegation in the recent session held on June 23.Although it has not been mentioned as an urgency for the López Obrador government, a possible free trade agreement between Mexico and South Korea is, as of this year, a little closer to the horizon.The goal is to promote investment and promote trade, and the main support comes from the real estate and agricultural unions, which would be immediately favored.But not all Mexican economic sectors are in favor of a trade agreement with that nation, because it could negatively affect local industry.Since March of this year, both countries resumed talks to materialize an FTA.Today South Korea is Mexico's fourth largest trading partner |Government of MexicoAlthough the traffic jams and delays in Asian ports have not been making the news for weeks, one of the concepts that the pandemic -and Washington's trade war with Beijing- has installed in the collective imagination is that of nearshoring or the relocation of production chains. , to stop depending exclusively on Chinese production.And in no other Latin American country does nearshoring seem to be taking off as much as in Mexico.According to recent information from the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks (AMPIP), some 75 companies have invested US$30 billion in expanding operations and moving factories from Asia to Mexico, especially in the areas of Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez and Monterrey, from January to August of this year.The happy figure also coincides with what was stated in a document from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) of May this year in which it was stated that Mexico would have the greatest opportunities and the greatest benefits from the relocation of productive chains, with the US $35,278 million in increased exports in the short and medium term.The reason is simple.Although small compared to developed countries in Europe or Asia, the local Mexican industry is in any case more important and consolidated than that of other countries on the continent, and its proximity to the United States and the rest of Latin America makes it an ideal location. to settle with industries in the electronic, metal-mechanical and, especially, automotive sectors.In this semi-dreamed-of context, the resumption of talks to materialize an FTA with South Korea, a nation that today is Mexico's fourth largest trading partner and with which there was a bilateral trade of US $ 20,000, is inserted since March of this year. million in 2020, according to data from the Mexican Foreign Ministry.With that country, Mexico has historical ties that range from a failed migration of 1,033 Koreans who arrived in Mérida looking for better horizons in 1905, to six decades of diplomatic relations that were recently commemorated.Commercially, its links are more recent, but not unimportant for that.In 1985, the first exports of Mexican oil to Korea were made and in 1987 the first investments of the South Korean maquiladora industry on Mexican soil took place with the primary objective of moving towards the US market, as highlighted in an analysis by Kim Jin-oh, of the Korean Institute for International Economic Policies, for the document of 60 years of bilateral relations between South Korea and Mexico, published this year.Since Mexico is currently South Korea's number one trading partner in Latin America, while South Korea is Mexico's second largest Asian investor (Japan is the first), the idea of ​​the FTA had been around since 2000, but the talks were suspended in 2008. It was at the end of 2021 when it was thought to reactivate it.Something that emerged from the then South Korean president Moon Jae-in and that came into the race when on March 1 of this year, the Secretary of the Economy, Tatiana Clouthier, held a meeting in Mexico City with the Minister of Commerce of the Republic of Korea Han-koo Yeo to agree to resume negotiations for the bilateral agreement.In addition, South Korea has opened a new political cycle with the arrival of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who aims to direct his priority towards the United States and have good relations with China, his main trading partner.Regarding Mexico, the objective of South Korea is a bilateral negotiation, the entry of South Korea into the Pacific Alliance -made up of Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru- and the accession of that same country to the Comprehensive and Progressive Treaty of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TIPAT), also known as CPTPP, made up of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile (the only country that has not ratified it), Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.Also read: Nearshoring, reality or chimera for Latin AmericaTHE LACK OF AN 'EVEN FLOOR'Along with the government's enthusiasm, there is expectation on the part of the unions that they would benefit.One of them is Fibra Prologis (FIBRA refers to the acronym for real estate investment trust, that is, firms that raise resources on the stock market to form large portfolios of real estate) that is on board the scheme, with the rise of nearshoring and the arrival of capital, especially from South Korea, on national soil.This arrival is taking place in the northern states, such as Nuevo León, Baja California, Chihuahua and Jalisco, where Asian investment is large, indicates the association.“Right now there is a very interesting situation for Mexico in manufacturing due to two factors: the conflict between the United States and China and the lack of labor in the United States.In this context, it makes a lot of sense to have a free trade agreement with Korea, because Mexico can be used to take advantage of the Mexican market, on the one hand, but, on the other hand, because of the free trade agreements that Mexico has with many countries, You can use these facilities to increase the flow of merchandise,” Luis Gutiérrez, president for Latin America of Fibra Prologis and former president of AMEFIBRA, the Mexican FIBRAS group, tells AméricaEconomía.Another entity openly in favor is the National Agricultural Council (CNA), because for its sector, eminently located in Sinaloa, Michoacán and the Pacific coast, a zero-tariff FTA would imply the dismantling of high tariffs in South Korean customs, which today are in 40% for beef and 30% for avocado.Thus, they could export more seafood and vegetables, in addition to specific Mexican products, such as tequila or mezcal.But except for those two unions, there have not been many smiles in the Mexican business world after the announcement in March.The Confederation of Industrial Chambers of the United Mexican States (CONCAMIN), which brings together the 47 national chambers of the industry, has openly expressed its doubts regarding the FTA, since while Mexico thinks of prioritizing agri-food exports with the instrument, Korea would seek gain ground in manufacturing and industrial goods with high added value, mainly for export."This means that the supply chains in Mexico will be replaced by those in Korea, affecting our jobs and investments," warned the president of CONCAMIN, José Abugaber Andonie.“In the first instance, a treaty with South Korea is not convenient for the [Mexican] industrial sector at this time,” he tells AméricaEconomía.To support it, the organization made an analysis of seven sectors: steel, chemicals, electrical manufacturing, textiles and clothing, auto parts, heavy vehicles and furniture, which represent 86% of total exports from South Korea to Mexico.There are some 8,400 companies, SMEs in the manufacturing industry, that may be affected, says the Confederation.Other opposing union organizations are the National Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero), which argues that the South Korean government subsidizes the steel industry.While the National Auto Parts Industry (INA) sees few incentives for this trade agreement, because a large part of the 600 Level 1 or Tier 1 companies (those that directly supply assembly companies) that operate in Mexico are the same ones that They are located in South Korea.In this regard, although the undersecretary of foreign trade, Luz María de la Mora, states that almost 50% of what Korea exports already comes to the country with a zero tariff, and that instead 80% of what Mexico exports is taxed, in Concamin makes it clear that the only beneficiary of an agreement with Korea will be the agricultural sector.Fibra Prologis, meanwhile, disagrees with the job loss argument.“We have a pulse of all the companies that are coming, in our business and I would tell you that the demand for manufacturing space doubled in 2020 compared to 2021, and we hope that 2022 will continue to be a very active year, and this is going to be more job creation and it will be very favorable conditions for our country“What happens is that the South Korean industry has a lot of support from the government in terms of subsidies and developments, which does not put us on a level playing field against what we have today in Mexico.Simply in energy, they are light years ahead [of us]”, highlights Abugaber.That is why the union leader does not hide his concern.“It has cost a lot for Mexico to do what it has done industrially speaking for a country to come with those advantages that it has with the government to affect us.And there is a real fact: South Korea is today the second country with the most issues before the WTO (...) Apart from that, I do not think that South Korea will find Mexico attractive when China is next to it.Also, 40% of Korea's total imports, so the study says, come from China, Vietnam, Japan and Taiwan,” he emphasizes.Another edge is the T-MEC, the treaty with Canada and the United States that has meant good business for these sectors."As a country we have opted for the T-MEC and we should not risk its implementation, the negotiation of an FTA with Korea takes us away from the ideal of the T-MEC and the reconstruction of regional value chains," Abugaber established last March, when The FTA with South Korea was announced.WHAT DOES MEXICO GAIN AND LOSE?Mexico has a network of 14 Free Trade Agreements with 50 countries and is negotiating another three with Ecuador, the United Kingdom and South Korea, reported the Ministry of Economy.With South Korea, specifically, the country has a trade agreement dating from 1966, an agreement to avoid double taxation and tax evasion from 1994, an investment promotion and protection agreement from 2000, and some thirty cooperation agreements in matters of science and technology.But why promote this FTA if it still generates many doubts in the private sector?It has been speculated in the press that AMLO's urgency for an FTA with South Korea is more of a benefit or bargaining chip for Seoul's support of its two star projects - the Mayan train and the Dos Bocas refinery - than an objective gain. for the country.And when Foreign Minister Ebrard pledged in July along with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin to promote the FTA, he thanked, on behalf of the president, Korea's participation in the development of the Pemex refinery in Dos Bocas, in Tabasco.This facility is located in Villahermosa and has been in charge of Samsung Engineering since 2020, for just over US$3.2 billion.The truth is that in Mexico there are already more than 2,000 companies with Korean capital that employ more than 150,000 Mexicans, both to produce and export to the United States, as well as to produce and sell in the local market and for South America, surpassing in number Japanese firms.Today, trade is favorable for South Korea over Mexico, which has a deficit from 1999 to date.During the last 25 years, exports from South Korea to Mexico have increased at an annualized rate of 9.82%,According to OECD data, in 2020, South Korea exported US$10.7 billion to Mexico, while that same year, Mexico exported US$5.86 billion to South Korea.Two years later, things are going even better: in the first half of 2022, the figure is US$6,823 in exports from South Korea to Mexico and US$4,044 million in shipments of products from Mexico to South Korea, reported the Embassy of South Korea in Mexico to AméricaEconomía.“For Korea, it seems to me that everything that can be gained from an FTA is very clear, especially in what they dominate, which is the electrical, electronics, automotive, auto parts and energy industries.And it will have extra benefits for South Korea, such as increasing its presence and direct investment in Mexico, but this will have a great impact on Mexican industry, because we cannot compete with Korea, for example, in the steel industry," the professor explained to AméricaEconomía. Renato Balderrama, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León.This was recognized by the South Korean authorities last June, when the ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Mexico, Suh Jeong-in, announced that, if trade negotiations for the FTA with Mexico advance, auto parts companies would benefit from entering the country. .Meanwhile, Minister Park Jin pointed out that, with the agreement, "Mexico becomes important as the main investment destination and production base for Korean companies in America."“Korea's competitiveness in those industries is very strong, and there is no way that Mexico can win there.Therefore, in a Korea-Mexico FTA, Korea is going to obtain much more than what Mexico is going to obtain by selling more tequila or more tomatoes, because in Korea retail is also highly customized and it is very difficult to enter the market”, Balderrama lands.The academic also highlights the enormous negotiating capacity of South Korean institutes and think tanks.Something that in Mexico is not so solid.“There is a strong backlog of Mexicans who master the Korean language, we do not know Korea well, our embassy, ​​although it has done a great job, needs more personnel, how much and more that ProMéxico no longer exists and was never replaced with something else, in other words, we are talking about an unbalanced negotiation process”, he says.“That is why I have maintained that, if more study centers on Korea are not strengthened and generated, a more comprehensive strategy is worked on in order to support an industrial policy in our country, this new FTA would benefit Korea much more than Mexico. , because we already know how the score will be.Therefore, if an FTA is going to be made, let's do it well”, emphasizes Balderrama.On the South Korean side, Ambassador Suh Jeong-in lowers the pressure.“The automobile industry in Mexico is concerned about a supposed strong increase in Korean exports from Seoul to Mexico, something that is far from reality.You have to see the case of KIA in Monterrey, where more than 400,000 cars are manufactured each year.Mexico exports many more cars to Korea than the Asian country to Mexico, so there is no Korean danger," he said in an interview with El Economista.In that same instance, he said that the steel industry would have nothing to fear either.“In fact, a bilateral agreement would be advantageous for her since Korean companies want to invest in Mexico.The Mexican steel company has to face reality, a reality that would be beneficial to it.The chemical industry has its doubts, I know, but for this there would be negotiations, there are always possible winners and losers, but negotiating a fair and balanced agreement is feasible and achievable”, he stressed.“South Korea in Mexico creates well-paid jobs.In this aspect, the national segment does win”, says Professor Balderrama.So who loses?The owners of national capital, because obviously their profit margin, their ability to compete for projects, is what is going to lose”, he says.In this sense, rather than being totally opposed to the FTA and along the lines of what Balderrama said, sectors such as CONCAMIN are asking the government to level things up."To be on an equal footing," says Abugaber.“Because the industries that today could be harmed by a treaty are the Mexican ones: those of us who pay taxes, have insurance, generate development... And all South Korean companies definitely want to have us as a link to export to USA.[Then], what we want is for them to come and invest in Mexico, not for them to invade the Mexican market for Korean products,” details the union leader, adding that so far they feel heard with their government counterparts, Clouthier and de la Mora. , and believe that there will be time to reach a good agreement for all.“The truth is, South Korea is an example country, I can't say no.But of course, businessmen go hand in hand with the government in a vision of industrial policy towards the development of exports (...) We have to sit down and talk, go to the analysis, this is not for tomorrow and, well, trust that the Ministry of Economy is going to understand what can affect us as a country” he concludes.