Potentially the most intriguing trade show for the plastics industry in Latin America in the past two decades gets underway in the Mexican capital this week.
An expected 30,000 industry-related visitors will attend Plastimagen México 2017 at the Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City, even as the pundits and boffins from the United States, Canada and Mexico continue to haggle over whether the North American Free Trade Agreement will exist in its present form next year.
In all probability, not one of the visitors will have any idea of the composition of NAFTA in 2018 and beyond. So how will the buyers and sellers interact?
The 21st show's joint organizers, E.J. Krause de México and Tarsus Group plc, describe Plastimagen México as the "most influential trade show for the plastics industry in Latin America."
But can a show in Mexico, a country currently with tariff-free access to the U.S. market, still be called influential when serious attempts are being made in Washington, D.C., to drag the NAFTA mat from under Mexico's feet.
When purchasing decisions were being made at the previous show in March 2016, then candidate Donald Trump's anti-NAFTA rhetoric was barely being taken seriously.
Plastimagen México will undoubtedly serve as a business barometer for the thriving plastics industry in Latin America, especially the one in Mexico, where optimism is high, despite Trump's tough talk.
