In the three years it took for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to come to fruition, there was much uncertainty surrounding trade relations with Mexico, yet U.S. business executives' bullishness about expanding business to Mexico remained unaffected, according to 160 executives who participated in Foley & Lardner LLP's 2020 International Trade and Trends in Mexico survey.

Respondents – primarily from the manufacturing, automotive and technology sectors – were surveyed about their interest in doing business in Mexico in the weeks leading up the passage of the USMCA. Across all sectors, respondents expressed intent to move business to Mexico from other countries, expand internationally for the first time via Mexico or grow existing Mexican operations – and to do so rapidly, within the next one to five years.

Still, as attractive as doing business in Mexico may be, challenges remain regarding legal and regulatory compliance, especially with new rules coming under USMCA. The survey also unveiled the importance of securing effective bilingual and bicultural counsel as new entrants work to build a book of business in Mexico. 

View the Survey Press Release

Download the complete Survey Report.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.