Business meetings through reverse missions, strategic participation in trade missions, as well as market diversification and prevention , are three key factors to face the challenges and opportunities of foreign trade towards 2026, considered Josefina Lombard, director of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology Southern Region (Comce Sur) .

In an interview with T21, Lombard pointed out that the region, which includes Puebla, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, and Tabasco, with extended support to Quintana Roo, Campeche, Chiapas, and Yucatán, faces a complex but full of possibilities, so the goal is to take advantage of its potential and position it on the global map .

Regarding business meetings and reverse trade missions, he explained that they promote these types of initiatives in which delegations of foreign buyers, such as those from California, USA, visit Mexico to negotiate directly with local businesspeople. This strategy reduces the entry risks for Mexican companies and seeks to select anchor states that will energize the region , such as Puebla, with its industrial profile, or Quintana Roo, one of the country’s main importers. In this way, these meetings become engines for strengthening the integration and growth of the south-southeast region.

Regarding the diversification of strategic markets, Lombard indicated that, while the United States will remain Mexico’s main trading partner, it is crucial to conquer new markets. In this particular case, he explained the potential for business opportunities with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) , a region with 20 million consumers .

“Mexico is not part of CARICOM, so, since we are going to do it through Belize, we are working on some agreements that will allow us to have a dual investment, both in Quintana Roo south towards Chetumal and in Belize, where companies arrive, set up a manufacturing part, the other part for packaging or finishing, and from there it is exported to Belize, it is an interesting agreement,” he said.

The director of Comce Sur also explained that infrastructure projects, such as the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Maya Train , can be the spearhead for the region’s development. She indicated that both projects aim to connect the area with development hubs and strengthen ties with Central America, promoting new trade routes.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and changes to the Customs Law, Lombard emphasized prevention. He stated that the Southern Cone Business Council (Comce Sur) is training companies on rules of origin and encouraging the participation of experts in negotiations to anticipate risks .

“The point is that the south-southeast region must keep moving, no matter what happens in the United States, in Europe, in China, the south-southeast region has to take advantage of every opportunity that comes its way and, strategically, use them for the benefit of each of the states,” he stressed.

Lombard sent a message to the region’s business leaders: “Don’t stay home, go out and find opportunities and diversify .” He also noted that the organization he leads will continue to promote international events, intraregional missions, and networking opportunities to increase the area’s visibility.

“If there’s one thing I’m very sure of, it’s that this will be a year of many opportunities, and not just anyone will see those opportunities; those opportunities are only seen through prevention, by being in the game, by surrounding ourselves with people specialized in foreign trade,” she concluded.

In the second quarter of 2025, the nine states under the supervision and support of Comce Sur registered exports of $9.262 billion , according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) . Regarding Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the region accumulated $1.4498 billion in the third quarter of this year, according to data from the Ministry of Economy .

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El cargo Comce Sur charts a course to face next year’s commercial challenges apareció primero en T21.

On March 27 of this year, Hyundai, South Korea’s largest vehicle manufacturer, became the first automaker to conduct a pilot test across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT), one of the flagship projects of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s previous administration, which Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum will continue. It is being established as a logistics alternative for the transport of goods between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

David Plata, Head of Finished Vehicle Logistics in Mexico at Hyundai Glovis , the South Korean automaker’s global logistics operator, explains the details of this first pilot test in an interview with T21.

The Glovis Cosmos ship sailed from South Korea to arrive first at the port of Lázaro Cárdenas where it unloaded cargo, and then headed to the port of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, with the 900 vehicles that were unloaded and transported via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway (FIT) to the port of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, where the RCC África ship departed on April 3 bound for the east coast of the United States.

The crossing into Mexico took six days, although Plata claims it actually took four. The delay: the ceremonies.

Following this initial logistical move, companies are reviewing efficiencies, timelines, costs, productivity, and other aspects to create a more consistent macro-operation and offer the route as an alternative to the Panama Canal.

“We are analyzing this first test together with the US team. The idea is to continue testing and for it to become a regular part of our logistics. We are in the evaluation process; the group will decide whether to continue or not, but we are working with everyone involved to make this project viable. We are reviewing the infrastructure and investment aspects, referring to greater draft, capacity and speed of trains, port space, among other things. The next test, if we do it, we would like to have a larger volume. The cost depends on the number of vehicles; the more vehicles we have, the more profitable it will be,” he explains.

Hyundai Glovis has more than 100 Ro-Ro (Roll On – Roll Off) vesselsspecialized in the transport of automobiles, with a capacity of 4,000 to 10,500 vehicles , which cross the Panama Canal weekly.

Dear reader, if you wish to continue reading this article, which appears in the May 2025 issue of T21 magazine, we invite you to review the electronic version by clicking here .

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El cargo Hyundai Glovis, CIIT’s first logistics “believer” apareció primero en T21.

From Asia to the port of Salina Cruz  was the journey of the Glovis Cosmosship  that arrived at said infrastructure in Mexico on March 27 and with which the pilot program to move automobiles through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railway (FIT) began .

As T21 reported, and according to Héctor Rubio Antonio, deputy director of operations at FIT, this test would involve transporting  600 Hyundai vehicles , the largest South Korean automobile manufacturer.

Meanwhile, the Oaxaca government, through its social media channels, announced that after 90 years, “we are making history by hosting the first interoceanic vehicle crossing. With infrastructure and leadership, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor is now a logistics hub connecting Mexico to the world and consolidating Oaxaca as the engine of development in the south-southeast of the country.”

It should be noted that the vehicles were subsequently transported by rail to Coatzacoalcos and from there boarded a ship to reach the east coast of the United States.

“This morning (Sunday), the unloading of Hyundai vehicles began as part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor strategy. The first Korean vehicles began to be located at the Port of Coatzacoalcos’s front dock No. 5. They arrived yesterday afternoon in approximately 50 Bi-Max vans directly from the Port of Salina Cruz,” Asipona Coatzacoalcos detailed through its social media.

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El cargo Hyundai cars take the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railroad line; they make their first interoceanic crossing. MARCH 31, 2025 apareció primero en T21.

The federal government launched the tender for the San Blas Atempa Well-Being Development Hub (PODEBI) in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the decision of which will be announced on July 15.

According to the document, the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) specified that the concession will be for five years for a polygon of more than 331 hectares located in the municipality of San Blas Atempa, Oaxaca.

The property is located at the foot of the federal highway MEX-185, in its Juchitán-Tehuantepec section, located 18.4 kilometers (km) from the Ixtepec International Airport and 25 km from the Port of Salina Cruz.

To participate in this process, interested parties must pay one million pesos . This procedure will be completed until February 24, after which an orientation session will be held.

According to the calendar, among other dates, the clarification meeting will be on April 28, the presentation and opening of proposals on June 10 , the decision on July 15 and the granting of the concession a day later.

It should be remembered that on August 30, the Asunción Ixtaltepec complex was awarded to the company Arzyz , while the San Juan Evangelista complex went to Proharmax in consortium with ABCD Arquitectura.

As for Mota, Engil México will be in charge of three Podebis, Coatzacoalcos I, Coatzacoalcos II  and Salina Cruz  , while Grupo Constructor Urcedic will build San Juan Evangelista,  and Profharmax in association with Transportadora Comexsa will be in charge of Texistepec .

It is worth remembering that all the poles have these productive, priority and potential vocations:

1. Electrical and electronics.
2. Semiconductors.
3. Automotive (electromobility), auto parts and transportation equipment.
4. Medical devices.
5. Pharmaceutical.
6. Agribusiness.
7. Electric power generation and distribution equipment (clean energy).
8. Machinery and equipment.
9. Information and Communication Technologies.
10. Metals.
11. Petrochemistry.

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El cargo Tender for the San Blas Atempa Development Hub launched apareció primero en T21.

El cargo The Tehuantepec Isthmus Interoceanic Corridor will operate in its entirety until 2026 apareció primero en T21.

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec Railroad (FIT) transported two thousand tons of wheat grain , property of Viterra Mexico , imported from Canada, which demonstrates the importance of the interoceanic route and materializes the vocation of the model proposed for the Isthmus of Tehuantepec Interoceanic Corridor (CIIT) , according to the  Secretariat of the Navy (Semar).

The federal agency recalled that after six years, on November 15, the movement of cargo that arrived at the port of Salina Cruz on the ship “SSI PRUDENCE” on October 30 was restarted, where it was transferred to bulk hoppers owned by the FIT and transported to the warehouses of the company Trimex in the port of Coatzacoalcos through Line Z.

“This fact is the result of the work of port authorities and the FIT for the service of companies that have placed their trust in such an important project, which seeks to consolidate itself as a vital commercial route that offers an efficient and sustainable alternative for the transportation of cargo between both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, highlighting the competitive advantages in terms of less time and cost of transportation,” said Semar.

He said that Viterra Mexico is a company that connects producers and consumers to supply agricultural products , and has managed to establish a global agricultural network that covers 39 countries.

For its part, Grupo Trimex del Sureste is a Mexican company dedicated to producing, distributing and marketing products from the wheat industry, and with a broad presence in the production of wheat flour in the country.

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El cargo ISTMO DE Tehuantepec Railroad Continues to gain cargo, transports 2,000 TONS of wheat apareció primero en T21.

The federal government added Yucatán to its Development Poles for Well-being (Podebis) program of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) , with the aim of attracting investment and enhancing the productive capacities of said region, boosting its economic competitiveness, the development and well-being of its inhabitants.

Therefore, it launched the Progreso I and Mérida I hubs, areas in which tax benefits and administrative facilities will be granted to taxpayers who carry out productive economic activities there.

According to the decree published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) , the activities that will be carried out at these sites will be:

• Electrical and electronic.
• Semiconductors.
• Automotive (electromobility).
• Auto parts and transportation equipment.
• Medical devices.
• Pharmacist.
• Agroindustry.
• Electrical energy generation and distribution equipment (clean energy).
• Machinery and equipment.
•  Technology of the information and communication.
• Metals and petrochemistry.

While the fiscal incentives for companies that establish themselves in these poles will be the same as those revealed in the first announcement of Development Poles, such as the total exemption from the Income Tax (ISR) during the first three years, as well as the Value Added Tax (VAT) in the first four years.

In addition to accelerated depreciation during the first six years , that is, a scheme that allows entrepreneurs to recover the original investment of fixed and deferred assets, via tax, through a higher percentage in the first years after the acquisition.

“To maintain the tax benefits, taxpayers must present, to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, progress in the investment project issued by the competent authority of Yucatán, and comply with the minimum employment levels,” he specified.

The government of Yucatán reported that state benefits range from the schedular tax on obtaining income from business activities, the first four years at 100% and subsequent years at 50%, tax on expenditures for remuneration for personal work, updating and its accessories, the first four years at 100% and the following at 50 percent.

Likewise, the additional tax for the execution of material works and 100% social assistance , fees for the services of the Public Registry of Property and Commerce, Directorate of the Cadastre, Secretariat of Sustainable Development, Secretariat of Health and State Coordination of Civil Protection , all 100%, which will be applicable for six years with the possibility of being extended for up to eight more years.

The Progreso I Pole is located at kilometer 24.5 of the Mérida-Progreso highway , in the municipality of Progreso, owned by the government of Yucatán with 223 hectares, who will also donate 110 hectares to the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) for development. of a multimodal park of the Mayan Train .

As for Mérida 1, it is located next to the Yucatán Scientific and Technological Park, in the municipality of Mérida, with an area of ​​60 hectares.

These two poles join Coatzacoalcos I, Coatzacoalcos II, Texistepec, Salina Cruz, the first package that has already been awarded. These are the companies:

It should be noted that the San Juan Evangelista building was once again put out to tender, with Profharmax being the winner in conjunction with ABCD Arquitectura.

For the Ciudad Ixtepec, Santa María Mixtequilla, Matías Romero Avendaño Poles, they were:

While Asunción Ixtaltepec continues its bidding process and the winner will be announced on July 30.

Remember that the latter belong to the package of 10 announced by the federal government, of which nine were put out to tender, so far the Jaltipan one has not been launched.

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El cargo Yucatán Will Have Two Development Hubs for Well-Being apareció primero en T21.