Barcelona, port of Mexico in Europe

Foment del Treball continues its tireless work of opening new markets for Catalan companies. This Wednesday it was Mexico's turn. A webinar organized by the employers' association served to identify the various business opportunities opening up in the North American country. Representatives from the Mexican consulate in Barcelona and ICEX, the state public entity that promotes the internationalization of Spanish companies, also participated in the event.

Spain is already the second largest investor country in Mexico, with 12% of the total, behind the United States, with 47%. More than 6,500 Spanish companies are currently established in the country, and between the port and airport of Barcelona, they account for 12% of tonnage transit. This means that the commercial relationship between both countries already has a history.

Consul Teresa Rosas highlighted that the Mexican economy is characterized by low inflation and a strong domestic market, and that it also benefits from a strategic geographical location, both for its centrality in the American continent and for its access to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans towards Europe and Asia. Rosas added that her country's economy also benefits from Mexico being a cultural power.

Also speaking on behalf of the consulate was Joaquín Catalá, head of economic and cultural promotion, who elaborated on Mexican geostrategy as a "bridge" between North America and South America. Catalá listed some of the country's commercial potentials. For example, its 77 airports and 117 ports; 750,000 kilometers of roads, and that it is the largest producer of silver, the seventh of copper, and the twelfth of oil. Throughout the country, there are almost 3,500 universities and 27 research centers.

The main objective of the webinar was to identify new business opportunities based on the new markets that Mexico is opening. The country maintains commercial relations with 223 states and has treaties with 50. This means that, through these agreements, access is gained to a market of 1.36 billion consumers.

There are already 4,200 Catalan companies that export to Mexico, where 481 subsidiaries have been established, which are potential beneficiaries of the aforementioned market. In the opposite direction, in Catalonia there are 41 subsidiaries of Mexican companies. Mexico's investment in Catalonia is estimated to have reached 2,000 million in the last five years. Another Mexican potential is the relocation of the United States' manufacturing sector to its neighboring country due to the increase in labor in China.

Montserrat Feliu, managing partner of Feliu N&I, provided the session with a detailed exposition on the legal framework that Spanish companies will encounter in Mexico. For his part, José Manuel Fresnillo, territorial director of ICEX in Catalonia, explained the aid from this organization that companies deciding to cross the pond can opt for.

Finally, Joan Tristany, general director of Amec, and Llucià Casellas, general director of Roser, explained their companies' experience in Mexico. Tristany, as Feliu had previously pointed out, insisted on the need to dedicate a lot of time to analysis and planning before settling in the North American country. "One should not underestimate the risks or overestimate the opportunities," he stated, and added: "You cannot go to Mexico halfway, but all in." He highlighted that it is "a young market in a young country" and that it is a good platform to expand into Central America. Not so, he warned, to the United States. To operate in the United States, one must settle in the United States, he advised.

Mexico is "a young market in a young country" and a good platform to expand into Central America

In addition to analyzing business opportunities, one of the objectives of the webinar was to increase commercial relations and investments between Catalonia and Mexico, as well as the presence of companies on the other side of the Atlantic. For now, the ports of Barcelona and Veracruz maintain a very good understanding, and now it is about consolidating Barcelona as the port of Mexico City in Europe.