Negotiating with China and Mexico: For the American Lawyer

Abstract

This paper investigates the negotiation styles characteristic to the Chinese and Mexican cultures and seeks to present successful strategies that American lawyers can employ when negotiating with members of these countries. Especially since the evolution of a globalized economy in the nineteenth century that has only expanded since the advent of the Internet, there has been an increased need for an attorney in the modern world to be skilled at understanding, and effectively communicating with, people from a wide range of cultures. As lawyers in a country that does 15.4% and 14.5% of total trade with China and Mexico, respectively, American attorneys are often involved in negotiations with Chinese and Mexican representatives seeking deals in industries ranging from manufacturing and agriculture to technology and energy. For example, Mexican trade officials met in October with American representatives at the Houston Gateway to the Americas conference to discuss the increasing opportunities for oil, natural gas pipeline, and electricity projects between the United States and Mexico. Furthermore, in an interview with Jim Cramer, Starbucks COO, Kevin Johnson, recently expressed his prediction that Starbucks will eventually do more business in China than they do in the United States. Although it is often overlooked, cultural differences can create misinterpretations of verbal communication, voluntary actions, and involuntary body language. These misunderstandings have the potential to catastrophically impact the success of a negotiation. For these reasons, this paper additionally seeks to uncover some tendencies of American negotiators that could be fatal to a deal when negotiating with business people of the Chinese and Mexican cultures. Hopefully these discoveries will help American lawyers become more self-aware during international negotiations so that certain subconscious negotiation techniques and habits will be thoughtfully considered before being implemented against Chinese or Mexican counterparts.