“We have in the last three weeks fielded more calls from firms wondering about the political risk [of US-China trade dispute] here than we probably have in the last 10 years,” said to Reuters Ben Cavender, an analyst at China Market Research Group, whose clients includes from clothing retailers to chemical firms.
The recent news about US and China trade battles have been concerning from companies to investors, besides some countries that might be affected by those entanglements among the two giants. According to Reuters, US firms are actually worried that the conflict could go beyond tariffs and affect business in the long-term, given the latest movements such as Washington’s trade restrictions on Chinese giant Huawei.
Despite all concerns that are being raised from the ongoing conflict between the two countries since the past year, some particular markets are actually benefiting from it. That’s the case of Mexico and other Latin American countries.
And the above-mentioned telecom giant is one of the big players that are well aware of it.
“For Huawei there is a before and after – starting from 2017. Before that date it was one more competitor in the region and since then it has taken a very strong push, and in 2018 and so far in 2019 it has experienced its greatest growth in the region“, said to BBC Mundo Ricardo Mendoza, analyst for mobile devices in Latin America of IDC, a company specialized in market intelligence. “The brand managed to fill the top 3 positions in many countries in the region such as Mexico, Colombia, and Peru” he added.
The Chinese giant is an example of how some strategic movements can turn a downside scenario into a business opportunity. And, naturally, there are other players starting to do the same about the US-China race. After all, it’s a matter of surviving: if companies can no longer target one particular market due to high tariffs or policy restrictions – they will start to look for other ones to explore.
It’s challenging. But great opportunities are made of challenges like this. And Latin America is having a great time knowing how to benefit from it.
