Mexico ranks 4th of 33 for tariff access, yet 33rd of 33 for global trade integration
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Wednesday, October 14, 2026 — Mexico ranks 4th of 33 economies for tariff protection and market access, yet finishes 33rd of 33 — dead last — for global trade integration, according to the Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review, published today by Intratec Solutions. Only three countries in the field open their markets wider, and none ranks lower for global trade integration.
The review scores 33 countries, together more than 80% of global manufacturing output, as places to make the industrial commodities the modern economy runs on — plastics, fertilizers and industrial metals among them. Each receives a 0–100 Country Score built from 14 pillars — labor, energy, taxes and logistics among them — measured on the same basis for every country, and a rank from 1 to 33. Both of Mexico's trade results are pillar ranks within that score: tariff protection and market access is one pillar, global trade integration another.
That openness is the paradox. On tariff terms, Mexico is among the most open economies in the assessment, yet it remains poorly connected to global trade — access on paper that has not yet turned into actual trade.
The cost base is genuinely cheap across the board. Manufacturing labor in Mexico costs about $10.0 an hour, roughly a fifth of the $50.8 paid in the United States, though more than China's $6.7. Building a plant costs 0.92 times the US benchmark, and employers pay a moderate 11% payroll charge.
“At $10 an hour all-in, a Mexican manufacturing worker costs a fifth of an American one — and the plant around them is cheaper to build than in the United States. On pure cost, the nearshoring case still holds.”
— Bruno Maia, Lead Analyst, Industry Economics & Competitiveness
Cheap labor alone has not lifted Mexico's overall standing, and little else on the scorecard helps: logistics and infrastructure rank 24th of 33, macroeconomic stability 28th and industrial production 21st. Mexico ranks 15th of 33 overall, with a Country Score of 49.9, the same place it held in 2024. In the Americas it follows the United States (9th), Canada (11th) and Colombia (12th).
The Industry Economics & Competitiveness 2025 Annual Review covers calendar year 2025 across seven industries, from polymers to fertilizers and metals. The ranking is free to read and the methodology is open, with no login required; everything in the report may be quoted, charted or republished with attribution.
About Intratec Solutions
Intratec Solutions — Independent Commodity, Energy & Industrial Intelligence. In operation since 2002, Intratec turns complex commodity and industrial data into clear, comparable intelligence. Its AI-enabled products cover prices, market dynamics, production economics, and the broader conditions that shape competitiveness. More at intratec.us.
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