Atradius Issues New Report on Supply Chain Risk in North America

Atradius released a country report focused on North America today, providing detailed analyses – including forecasts for 2018 – of the economic health of Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and the U.S. It also addresses how North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations will likely impact each country.

Among the small sampling of the report's insights:

• Of the countries analyzed, 2018 economic growth is expected to be highest in Panama, thanks to its open and highly diversified and competitive economy. However, the country faces challenges ahead, including fighting corruption and crime.
• Although concerns about a surge in U.S.-initiated protectionism have receded, the administration's trade policy remains a risk for trading partners as well as the U.S. economy.

Christian Mueller, Vice President - SRM Americas, told SCMR in an interview that one highlight of the report was the resilience of the Mexican economy.

“This came as somewhat of a surprise,” he said. “But despite the NAFTA renegotiation issue the Mexico has strong fundamentals.

At the same time, said Mueller, supply chain managers should follow the NAFTA renegotiation issue and potential political uncertainty due to the upcoming presidential and general elections in summer.

“Managers should also be aware of the risk of high household indebtedness in Canada, in case of a potential economic downturn in the future,” said Mueller

Here at home, Mueller sees strong economic performance, but the looming risk that leadership in Washington will take “more protectionist measures,” putting international trade at risk.

This and other country reports can be found here.

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