International Experience: Tariffs, Trade, and Tacos in Mexico

“I want you to really see my country—both the good and the bad,” Professor David Argente said during our first pre-travel meeting. Originally from Mexico City, Professor Argente was taking a break from his macroeconomics research to lead one of Yale SOM’s International Experience (IE) courses, programs designed to immerse students in a country’s economic, political, and cultural life. I had signed up for the Mexico IE to better understand the evolving trade relationship between the U.S. and Mexico—and to eat as many tacos as possible.

After a few weeks of classroom preparation, our group flew from New Haven to Mexico City. We began our 10-day journey with a presentation by Mariana Campos, managing director of the think tank Mexico Evalua, who helped situate us in Mexico’s economic and political landscape. Following this informative session, Professor Argente took us to the National Museum of Anthropology, where we marveled at the famous Aztec calendar sun stone. We capped off the day with a cooking class, learning to make traditional tamales and mole.

That first day set the tone for the entire trip. Our schedule was packed. We often left the hotel at 7 a.m. to beat traffic and returned more than 12 hours later—yet we still found energy for nighttime salsa dancing. We engaged in serious discussions at the Bank of Mexico, speaking with one of the country’s five central bankers. We witnessed entrepreneurship firsthand when my classmate (and friend) Nick Loxton confidently pitched a new business line to the co-founder of a rapidly growing Mexican fintech. And we embraced pure joy, floating down the Xochimilco canals accompanied by a mariachi band. By my count, we completed 12 company visits and toured eight cultural sites—not including our night watching wrestling matches at Lucha Libre!

A real highlight for me was our visit to The Lift, a film production services company that works with international studios and streamers to bring film and advertising production to Mexico. I worked in podcast production before starting at SOM and will be interning at Warner Bros. Discovery this summer, so it was fascinating to learn about the globalization of production services. The only downside? Our host, CEO Avelino Rodriguez, waited until the end of the visit to reveal he got his MBA at Harvard.

Unsurprisingly, tariffs came up often during our company visits. The U.S. and Mexican economies are deeply intertwined, with trade between the two countries increasing tenfold since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992. Many of the businesses we visited are multinationals that will need to shift strategies if faced with growing tariffs, yet the leaders we met projected calm and adaptability. There’s no way to know the exact impact of tariffs, but I was impressed by these leaders’ resilience and optimistic approach in navigating complex global challenges.

Reflecting on the experience, I’m struck by how the trip embodied the unique culture of our school community. Only at SOM would 15 students from five different countries form such immediate bonds while navigating a foreign city. Only at SOM would our teaching assistant, Juan Francisco Ayma, spontaneously become everyone’s dance instructor. Only at SOM would Christine Jolly, our staff coordinator, keep our spirits so high through long days. And, certainly, only at SOM would Professor Argente invest so deeply in giving his students an authentic tour of his home.

Before starting my MBA, I pictured myself learning accounting and economics within classroom walls. Never did I imagine finding myself on the vibrant streets of Mexico City, where lessons of human connection, resiliency, and global perspective extended far beyond any classroom.