The Mexican economy is strongly tied to economic conditions in the United States, making it
very sensitive to economic developments in the United States.7 Mexico is highly reliant on
exports and most of Mexico’s exports go to the United States.
In 2008, Mexico’s exports as a
percent of GDP equaled 31%, up from 10% twenty years ago, and over 80% of Mexico’s exports
went to the United States. The state of the Mexican economy is important to the United States
because of the close trade and investment ties between the two countries, and because of other
social and political issues that could be affected by economic conditions, particularly poverty and
how it relates to migration issues.