Events
US- Mexico Relations: Opportunities for Expanded Trade and Investments
Mexico is right at the very top of the list of the major trading partners of the US, along with Canada and China. And yet, except for the Americans who live and work in states near the US-Mexico border, most US citizens and even business people do not know enough about the Mexican economy, its state of the art manufacturing, and world class competitiveness in many sectors. As we have just entered a new era of US-Mexico relations with the USMCA, the free trade agreement linking the US, Mexico and Canada that recently replaced the 1994 NAFTA, it is very important to look closely at Mexico, America’s southern neighbor and key trading partner, in order to learn about the opportunities created by the USMCA, geographic proximity and cultural ties.
To shed light on Mexico and at the robust US-Mexico trade and investment relationship, on November 4, 2020, at 2:00pm (EST) the Global Policy Institute and Bay Atlantic University held a webinar titled:
US- Mexico Relations: Opportunities for Expanded Trade and Investments
Mexico is right at the very top of the list of the major trading partners of the US, along with Canada and China. And yet, except for the Americans who live and work in states near the US-Mexico border, most US citizens and even business people do not know enough about the Mexican economy, its state of the art manufacturing, and world class work force and competitiveness in many sectors, including high-tech. As we have just entered a new era of US-Mexico relations with the enactment of the USMCA, the new free trade agreement linking the US, Mexico and Canada that recently replaced the 1994 NAFTA, it is very important to look closely at Mexico, America’s southern neighbor and key trading partner, in order to learn about the opportunities created by the USMCA, geographic proximity, a business friendly ecosystem, and old cultural ties.
Nobigrot opened the presentation by pointing out that Mexico has a vibrant society and economy with plenty of opportunities for foreign investors, particularly American investors who could directly benefit from a young and highly skilled workforce that performs according to high international standards. Martinez added that Mexico is an important global player. Its economy is the 15th largest in the world by GDP and the 11th largest by purchasing power parity, according to the International Monetary Fund. Foreign investors should be reassured by a taxation system that can be easily understood and tends to conform to accepted international standards. Galindo pointed out that globalization is here to stay, even though there are currently significant rifts within the international economic and trade system. US investors looking at realistic options should appreciate that Mexico has been for decades and is today a reliable investment and trade partner for the US. Looking more closely at sectors, all panelists agreed that Mexico has a very advanced auto manufacturing sector that has been performing as an essential and reliable partner for US automakers. Martinez noted that well before a USA, Mexico and Canada Free Trade Areas eventually leading to NAFTA was discussed the maquiladora system created win-win opportunities for US corporations and Mexican partners. Under these arrangements, semi-finished products were and are exported to Mexico from the US, refined and finished there and then re-exported to the US. Nobigrot pointed out that under NAFTA the bilateral relationship improved significantly with mutual advantages for Mexico and the US. She also noted that Mexico has a great to offer to foreign visitors, given its vibrant cultural life and so many different tourist destinations. Galindo noted that NAFTA and its successor, the recently renegotiated USMCA [United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement], there are great opportunities for US companies to invest in Mexico. They can also use Mexico as a base for exports to many other countries beyond North America, taking advantage of the web of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements Mexico is a party to. To the extent that the products’ contents satisfy the rules of origin requirements there are several opportunities available to US investors. Regarding work force developments policies in Mexico Nobigrot noted that the quality of the Mexican education system has improved significantly. A young and better educated labor force is now employable not just in old fashioned traditional manufacturing, but also in state-of-the-art sophisticated technology companies. She also pointed out that many private entities, Centro being one of the leaders, are focusing on innovative models aimed at nurturing young people, and women, with the goal of enabling a new generation of entrepreneurs. As US companies are reconsidering their Asia (mostly China) centered global supply chains, Martinez noted that for US firms the effort of transitioning from Asian to Mexico based suppliers would be relatively easy, given the incentives to foreign investors offered by the country and the ample safeguards provided by the Mexican legal system. All panelists led by Galindo agreed that Mexico is now competitive with Asia when it comes to the skills required by the knowledge economy, and all the building blocks of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They noted that high tech hubs such as Guadalajara, home of Mexico’s Silicon Valley, are becoming the target of US based and hundreds of other global technology companies willing to take advantage of the local talent to expand their international activities.
Panelists
Mauricio Martínez D´Meza Violante, Business Tax Partner, Deloitte Mexico
Mauricio Martinez is a Business Tax Partner at Deloitte Mexico since October 2002 and currently serves as Mexico and LATAM Tax Controversy leader and as co-Leader of Business Tax for Mexico.
Before joining Deloitte he served as Chief Counsel for Large Taxpayers in 2000-2002 working at the Tax Administration Service. From 1999-2001 he was a partner at Baker& McKenzie in Monterrey. In1998-1999 he served as Associate Chief Counsel for Domestic and International Taxation also at the Tax Administration Service and from 1997-1998 he was Assistant General Director for International tax Policy and Treaty Negotiations at General Directorate for International Taxation. In 1995- 1997 he worked as Representative for the Ministry of Finance before the US and Canadian Government for Tax and Customs Affairs in Washington, D.C. Mr. Martínez D ́Meza holds a Law Degree from the Instituto Tecnológico
Malkah Nobigrot, Director of Institutional Relations, Grupo Diarq
Ms. Malkah Nobigrot is currently the Director of Institutional Relations in Diarq Design and Architecture and advisor to Ms. Gina Diez Barroso, one of the most influential business women in Mexico. She holds a B.A law degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a Master´s Degree from Harvard Law School, where she received a full scholarship and worked as a visiting researcher. She equally holds a Diploma both in Project Management from Georgetown University and in Oral Hearings from USAID/Proderecho.
She was the first Mexican to be selected to enter the Young Professional Program at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) where she worked as Junior Advisor to the Bank´s President, as an Operations Specialist and as an Advisor to the Special Representative in Europe. In Mexico she has been appointed to different positions in the Mexican Government at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Electricity Commission, and, most recently, as the Advisor and International Coordinator to the Mexico City Secretary of Economic Development. She also worked as a law clerk for the Mexican Supreme Court Chief Justice, Hon. Mariano Azuela, as a lawyer at the prestigious law firm Goodrich, Riquelme and Partners, and as a governance and communications specialist and as an international negotiator in Inteligencia Publica.
Ms. Nobigrot has been invited as a keynote and public speaker in both Mexico and abroad and has been interviewed in national and international media. She also worked as a content producer, TV and Radio presenter and political analyst in Mexican TV and radio.
She is Vice-President of the Academy of Journalist in the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics – the oldest society in Latin America, and is a member of the Mexican Council of Foreign Affairs, the Mexican National Academy of History and Geography and the Mexican Society of TV and Radio Journalists.
Dr. Alfonso Galindo, Executive VP and CEO PROFMEX
Dr. Alfonso J Galindo is Executive Vice-President and CEO of PROFMEX: Worldwide Consortium of Research on Mexico, a Los Angeles based think tank with 35 years of experience in the analysis of Mexican social and economic policy, as well as bilateral US-Mexico relations. He is founding partner of “Romero Hicks & Galindo” a 15 year old Mexico City based consulting firm, and acts as CEO of “Education by Experience” a global initiative promoting environmental and civic education and principles in K-12 students.
Mr. Galindo received his Ph.D. in History from UCLA (2007) where he also graduated with honors as an MA in Latin American Studies (1992). He holds a Master´s degree in Law (LL.M) from Harvard Law School (1995), a Master´s degree in Public Policy (MPP) from UC Berkeley (1994), a and a J.D. from the National University of Mexico (UNAM 1990).
Mr. Galindo has worked for UCLA and several academic institutions in the US and Mexico, as well as for the Mexican Federal Government, the State Government of Puebla and as a consultant to a number of US and Mexican corporations doing business over the border.
Moderator
Paolo von Schirach, President Global Policy Institute, and Chair Political Science and International Relations, Bay Atlantic University