Economic Relations between Mexico and Romania: Trade, Security, and Development Prospects

Abstract

Abstract

This paper analyzes the economic relations between Romania and Mexico from the twofold perspective of bilateral trade and economic security, using geoeconomics, understood as the coordinated use of economic and geopolitical instruments to attain security-relevant objectives, as the organizing concept. Drawing on official Romanian, European, and Mexican data, the study shows that trade flows, although modest, follow an upward trajectory, run a strong surplus in Romania’s favor, and are concentrated in processed industrial goods, while questioning how far this structure reflects genuine domestic capacity for geoeconomic actionrather than the behavior of foreign-owned subsidiaries operating in Romania. It argues that the 2026 modernized EU-Mexico Global Agreement and Mexico’s membership in the Pacific Alliance open new channels for deepening these relations, including in defense, where dual-use cooperation is a more realistic avenue than the export of lethal armament. The paper proposes a strategy for increasing Romanian exports of services and technological capabilities in information technology, cybersecurity, and the aerospace industry, by leveraging the nearshoring phenomenon and the complementary position of the two states within their respective trade blocs.