A biography for Ildefonso Guajardo Villarrealhasn’t been written yet.
“You know how it is: when you politicize things, it is not the best ingredient to get things done.”
“Opening the Pandora's box of tariffs will be an endless game, and it will be a lose-lose proposition.”
“Since its enforcement, NAFTA has been more than a trade agreement. It has made us think of ourselves as a region.”
“The next generation of entrepreneurs are already named Martinez or Sanchez.”
“The precondition to negotiating NAFTA is that we can't go back to the past.”
“If there is any action that punishes imports to the North American market and encourages U.S. exports, you have to reflect it in a mirror action to counteract the change of incentives that this would make for activity and investment in Mexico.”
“The Pacific Alliance is an initiative to align our economies.”
“If you throw obstacles at the relationship with Mexico, you would be shooting yourself in the foot.”
“Since we don't use any type of currency manipulation schemes - we have a floating exchange market - we are very glad to consider any type of process that would stabilize the Mexican peso.”
“There won't be a law with sanctions, but Mexicans and Mexican consumers will know how to value those companies that are loyal to our national identity and those that are not.”
“NAFTA has been a great success for the three countries involved.”
“It makes no sense to introduce an agreement with border restrictions or tariffs.”
“The U.S. is a sovereign nation, and if the U.S. decides to build a wall on the southern border, it's their sovereign decision. We may like it or not.”
“We believe more in bridges and making the border better.”
“Mexico's government has made a strong commitment to boosting the country's competitiveness in global trade, and the Ministry of Economy recognizes that trade facilitation is a key element in achieving this objective.”
“If a private investor is raising his hand and saying, 'I don't have the conditions with which to work,' then the government has the responsibility to create those conditions.”
“We are fed up with complaints that Mexico is stealing jobs from U.S. manufacturing. We are part of the solution that has maintained competitiveness for the U.S. versus China.”
“Toyota has 10 plants in the United States... and employs more than 130,000 Americans. If I were Mr. Trump, I'd treat them with more respect.”
“The list of traceability for some automotive components needs to be rethought for new technologies to send adequate signals about the strengthening of the value chains in North America.”
“Let me first clarify that NAFTA is a trilateral agreement. The decision of walking away is not of Mexico or Canada. The decision of walking away is of the U.S.”