Given the possibility that the United States will tighten rules of origin during the review process of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the government of Jalisco is analyzing a strategy to strengthen local suppliers in the automotive and electronics sectors , with the aim of increasing regional content.
Cindy Blanco, head of the Jalisco Ministry of Economic Development , said that they will work on this agenda for 2027, with the private sector to carry out import substitution through a public-private vehicle that will specifically address this issue and promote micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
“If they tighten the rules of origin in the automotive sector and possibly in the electronics sector, we will face challenges in keeping that export engine growing, and in that sense, we are the first interested in developing this supply chain; firstly because in Jalisco, SMEs represent more than 90% of the state’s economic units, meaning we are interested in ensuring that these investments have an opportunity for integration, but on the other hand, to retain those investments, we need to guarantee them that supply chain,” he emphasized.
In an interview, he explained that they are already working on this project, as well as identifying any bottlenecks that could delay its start.
The electronics sector alone represents around 500 million dollars (mdd) that would be replaced, “if we get a percentage it would be a great achievement, we are working on the amount and understanding that some of these large companies do have room to maneuver and in others they already come with certain customer specifications.”
Blanco noted that as of the end of the first half of 2026, foreign investment had reached $1.4 billion, compared to $1.2 billion last year.
“The investment originates primarily from the United States, which confirms that, despite the USMCA and tariffs, there remains significant economic integration between the two countries. And in terms of sectors, we have an agenda of six strategic sectors and have sought to attract the largest possible investment in them,” he explained.
He specified that this investment is concentrated in the advanced manufacturing sector, artificial intelligence (AI) servers, semiconductors, agribusiness, health, logistics and automotive.
He highlighted the significant growth in construction within the logistics sector . Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were approximately 200,000 square meters (m2) of industrial parks, while by 2025, this figure had reached nearly 600,000 m2. They expect to close this year with 800,000 m2.
The state official indicated that this increase stems from changes made to certain procedures for the industrial sector. These include modifications to building permits for developments of 5,000 or 10,000 square meters and above, which will be implemented in eight municipalities across the state.
Although the number of requirements was also reduced from 186 to 86 , “we standardized them, and now all eight municipalities require these 86 requirements, and we went from 700 days of review to 200. What we want is for the regulation to be very agile . Investment arrives turnkey and doesn’t wait for the park to be operational; we want to have an inventory ready for when these types of investments arrive,” he asserted.
With these modifications, they seek to position Jalisco within the top 3 states in industrial parks , which is aligned with the objectives of the Mexico Plan .
“The challenge is that many procedures are interconnected if you need federal, state, and municipal permits, and there are risks involved. So, what we’re trying to do here is expedite these processes and, above all, simplify them without compromising the law. The goal is to attract new investment from companies that want to develop industrial parks and to ensure that the necessary infrastructure and installed capacity are already in place,” he concluded.
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