The Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (Comce) proposed to Claudia Sheinbaum, virtual winner of the Presidency of Mexico, to make the Mexico-China relationship transparent.The Comce also proposed promoting a strategy to strengthen the relationship between Mexico and North America through the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (USMCA), to boost joint regional development, in the face of the growing trend of protectionist policies in the world.

Comce

Both proposals are part of a document containing 24 recommendations for the next six-year term: “24 for 2024: Ideas and proposals for Mexicans to take advantage of Mexico’s strengths as a global leader”.

The following are the 24 recommendations:

International trade

• Promote a strategy to strengthen the relationship between Mexico and North America through the USMCA, to promote joint regional development, given the growing trend of protectionist policies in the world.
• Strengthen coordination with the United States and Canada, not only in the public sector, but also in the private sector and academia, in order to further expand the integration of productive value chains. 
• Maintain the active participation of private organizations, such as the Comce, in the role of advisors in international trade negotiations. 
• Create a global strategy focused on trade liberalization and opposition to protectionist policies, as this facilitates the availability of quality inputs at competitive prices, as well as products and services for domestic consumers. 
• Promote market diversification, as it is essential to expand international trade networks with different regions of the world and open new markets for our products.
• Resume bilateral trade negotiations with South Korea in Asia; Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador in Latin America; and the United Kingdom in Europe; as well as accelerate the signing of the Modernized Global Agreement with the European Union.
• Transparency in the Mexico-China relationship to ensure that it is a source of opportunities for the country. 

Investment 

• Simplify customs procedures, since it is necessary to have an efficient regulatory framework that reduces bureaucracy and streamlines customs processes to facilitate foreign trade. 
• Promote the use of digital tools to improve import and export processes, such as blockchain technology, which offers greater security and privacy, allowing for more agile operations. 
• Support small and medium-sized enterprises to access international markets and compete successfully.
• Ensure access to sufficient, competitive and clean energy for businesses. 
• Create a comprehensive strategy as a country to attract investment to Mexico, especially in the context of nearshoring. Mexico is in an exceptional context to capitalize on this phenomenon and define the type of investments it wishes to attract. 
• Create an area of investment intelligence at the federal government level to attract investment projects that allow us to create value, technological progress and sustainability in the country, through tools such as big data analysis. In other words, proactively attract investments to strengthen our global value chain, which will enhance our attractiveness as a country in the future. 

Logistics 

• Attract more research and development projects to the country, taking advantage of the agreements established by the nearshoring phenomenon, since the goal is for Mexico to move from being a manufacturing country to a country that generates innovation. 
• Guarantee legal certainty and preserve the rule of law to generate confidence with investors, providing stability to plan their operations in the long term.
• Maintain a stable macroeconomic policy and maintain low levels of inflation, a prudent fiscal and monetary policy, and a regulatory environment conducive to investment and growth. 
• Improve logistics infrastructure, making investments in ports, airports and land transportation to speed up and reduce the cost of transporting goods, and make Mexican products more competitive in international markets. 
• Promote public-private participation projects that can be operated by institutions specializing in foreign trade and investment attraction. 

Technology 

• Insecurity is one of the greatest challenges for the country; therefore, it is necessary to guarantee independence and transparency in their actions in order to effectively combat crime and corruption. 
• To give a single institution or Secretariat the responsibility of promoting foreign direct investment, foreign trade and Mexico’s image in the world as a business destination, providing a budget in accordance with its importance and responsibilities.
• Work actively with academia to formulate study and training programs (upskilling and reskilling) that truly accelerate the articulation and application of knowledge in the country’s productive system. 
• Promote the dual education model, so that students obtain practical training directly in the industry before graduating, which will facilitate their incorporation into the productive environment, as well as the development of talent for companies. 
• Take advantage of tax incentives and benefits that may exist in trade agreements to promote technology transfer. 
• Establish alliances between research centers and universities in other countries to develop applied research projects that benefit industries established in Mexico, particularly in specialized segments such as the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).