Just days before the end of the tariff pause granted by the United States government, the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) confirmed that it, along with a delegation of business leaders, will be in Washington, DC, starting this Sunday, October 19, to address the issues of tariffs and the renegotiation of the USMCA.
Francisco Cervantes, president of the organization, mentioned that the Secretariats of Economy, Labor, and Foreign Affairs, as well as Altagracia Gómez, head of the Advisory Council on Regional Economic Development and Relocation (CADERR), the government’s liaison office with industry in Mexico, will be present at the so-called “Mexico Day.”
During his participation in the Business Organizations panel at the 50th National Index Convention , taking place from October 15 to 17, he confirmed that nearly 20 CCE organizations will be present at these meetings.
“We have meetings in Congress, at the State Department, and at the Department of Commerce. It’s important to send the message that Mexico doesn’t compete, that we complement each other, and that in Mexico, we are fully integrated,” he stated.
He reiterated that the message will be, “We’re on the same side. We really do have a dividing line, but we’re a region. That’s why the treaty, in terms of trade, doesn’t have that line. We’re a necessary country, and so is Canada.”
On the labor front, he noted that the country has implemented various actions and changes, progress that “had never been made before, but we didn’t communicate it.” These changes, such as those related to national content and for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), among others, are essential to halting the application of tariffs.
“It’s true, those were issues that were neglected, and as a good trading partner, we should have paid more attention to this. We let it go, and today we’re suffering, but we’re already on the path to fixing everything. Therefore, these days there will be a lot of pressure in Washington to let them know everything that’s being done in Mexico, especially since the 90-day period is about to expire and tensions are starting to rise again,” he added.
Cervantes mentioned that as a region, it contributes 30% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and action is needed under that scenario.
Humberto Martínez Cantú, president of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry Council (Index) , said they will work with the government to increase the national content beyond 25 percent.
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