Mexico‘s balance of international trade in services continued to be in deficit during the last five years, mainly due to deficits in transportation and insurance.

Internally, its main items exhibit deficits, with the exception of travel, according to data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Trade in services, 2016-2021

Both exports and imports of services were strongly affected by the pandemic.

International trade

The most affected item was travel, precisely the one in which Mexico normally has a surplus.

This led to a deficit in services of 11.227 billion dollars in 2020, considerably higher than the previous year and despite the contraction in economic activity.

The deficit remained high in 2021, when it totaled 11.412 billion dollars, mainly because travel exports were still well below their pre-pandemic levels.