Amid growing trade uncertainty between the United States and China, as well as the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) , Querétaro seeks to position itself as one of the country’s main logistics, industrial and technological hubs.
At the conference “Economic Perspectives for Investment and Strengthening the Supply Chain” at the GOMSA 2026 Event , Genaro Montes Díaz, Undersecretary of Economic Development of Querétaro, stated that Mexico is facing a decisive moment in trade and that the review of the agreement with the United States and Canada will force companies to strengthen traceability, knowledge of their supply chains and communication between operational, logistics and foreign trade areas.
“The United States wants to know where the goods come from, what the DNA of the products is, and how the value chains are integrated,” he said.
During his participation, Montes Díaz explained that the international environment has changed radically since the pandemic and the trade war between the United States and China , which accelerated processes such as nearshoring (relocation of production lines) and the regionalization of production chains.
He recalled that many companies moved their production to China for decades because of the low manufacturing costs; however, factors such as technological restrictions, the pandemic and the semiconductor crisis highlighted the vulnerability of depending on distant supply chains.
“What we are seeing today did not begin with the pandemic. Regionalization already existed, but the pandemic made evident the need to bring production closer to consumer markets,” he commented.
In that context, he warned that the review of the USMCA will be marked by three major issues: the traceability of goods, the rules of origin, especially in steel and aluminum, and the rapid response labor mechanisms.
Querétaro is betting on technology, logistics and talent
The undersecretary highlighted that Querétaro has built an industrial strategy based on diversification and specialization over decades , evolving from the food industry to sectors such as automotive, aerospace, medical devices, data centers and advanced technologies.
Currently, he said, the state concentrates about 75% of the data centers installed in Mexico , in addition to having a strategic geographical position in the center of the country, logistical infrastructure and a network of more than 130 public and private universities.
“Querétaro does not represent even 1% of the national territory, but it has become one of the most competitive and safe states in the country,” he stated.
Montes Díaz highlighted the growth of the Querétaro International Airport as a logistics hub, driven by both passenger traffic and the increase in air cargo, as well as the presence of operations by companies such as UPS and Mercado Libre .
He also emphasized the importance of the aerospace sector in the state, stating that Querétaro is one of only three places in the world where aircraft engines are manufactured , along with France and the United States.
One of the central messages of the conference was the need for Mexican companies to strengthen the integration between production, logistics, purchasing and foreign trade to respond to new international requirements.
The official warned that many companies still operate with fragmented information, making it difficult to prove the true origin of products and comply with the standards that the United States will require.
“If production areas do not share information with logistics and foreign trade, companies will be at a competitive disadvantage,” he warned.
Therefore, he insisted that talent development, digitalization, collaboration between academia, government and industry, and the strengthening of local suppliers will be fundamental to facing the new stage of international trade.
A complex scenario for Mexico
Montes Díaz also addressed the macroeconomic challenges facing the country, including the uncertainty generated by U.S. trade policies, tariff volatility, and the recent reduction in Mexico’s credit rating.
Even so, he considered that the country maintains important advantages thanks to its integration with the US market, which represents the destination of more than 80% of Mexican exports .
“Mexico has a huge opportunity, but we have to prepare. We can’t stop it from raining, but we can put on our umbrellas before the storm,” he stressed.
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