There is an intention of 400 companies to relocate from Asia to Mexico: Buenrostro

More than 400 companies intend to relocate production operations from Asia to Mexicohighlighted Raquel Buenrostro, Secretary of Economy.

According to the companies contacted as part of Banxico’s interview program, the arrival of more foreign companies in Mexico seeking to benefit from proximity to the United States has been observed.

This is mainly due to trade tensions between China y USA and to the rules of origin of the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), which were mentioned by 49.3 and 49.0% of the companies interviewed, in that order.

Currently there is an intention of more than 400 North American companies to carry out a relocation process from Asia to Mexico,” Buenrostro said this Tuesday in an appearance in the Senate.

Last week, the United States Trade Representative, Katherine Tai, called for a quick solution to the energy dispute that her country initiated against Mexico within the framework of the T-MEC, after her first meeting with Buenrostro, in the form virtual.

In the appearance before the Senate, Buenrostro explained that Mexico and the United States are two great economies that complement each other and benefit from each other.

“The negotiation and commercial agreements that favor both countries are a necessity and an imperative. Mexico is not at all interested in confrontation; it is dialogue, negotiation and the law that will resolve any commercial difference that exists between the two nations,” the official said immediately.

On July 20, 2022, USA requested consultations with Mexico under the Dispute Settlement chapter of the T-MECarguing that several Mexican energy policies violate this agreement, favor Pemex and the CFE, and negatively affect US companies operating in Mexico and energy produced in the United States.

At another point, Buenrostro told the senators that through a letter sent in August to his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, US President Joe Biden told him: “My deepest respect for you and the independence and sovereignty of Mexico, I hope we keep in touch.”

Buenrostro then argued that this phrase accurately condensed the spirit of the relationship between Mexico and the United States“a conciliatory relationship of cooperation between equals and respectful of internal decisions”.

She continued: “That is the relationship that our peoples want to maintain and for which we will work in the Ministry of Economy. The importance that this relationship has for both countries is widely known and, however, today I see it necessary to emphasize it”.

The official commented that the relocation interest is a sign of the importance of the T-MECa trade agreement where ties with the United States and Canada have been strengthened and where an institutional framework was established that provides legal certainty to investors, businessmen and consumers in the region.

“This historic treaty represented a change in trade relations with the countries of the north, since new disciplines were introduced for the trade of remanufactured goods in the region and equal treatment for new goods,” Buenrostro said.

He also mentioned that the T-MEC included new regulations on copyright, trademarks, geographical indications, patents, protection of undisclosed data, industrial designs, trade secrets, liability limitation schemes for internet service providers, digital commerce, respect for labor rights, regulatory cooperation and provisions on enforcement and corruption measures.

roberto.morales@eleconomista.mx

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