How COVID and the War in Ukraine Killed Globalization | Opinion

Last year, Mexico replaced China as the largest source of American merchandise imports. There is no mystery why this happened: Imports from China plunged 20.3 percent. Some of the decline in Chinese imports is attributable to Chinese firms moving production to offshore locations such as Mexico, which benefits from the USMCA agreement, as well as Vietnam and other Southeast Asia locations. There are also data anomalies, so the actual drop in Chinese imports may not be as large as the U.S. Census Bureau reported. In any event, the trend indicates the U.S. and Chinese economies are “decoupling.” U.S. exports to…