U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Meets with Government Leaders on Mexico Business Development Mission

It is the second day of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker’s five-day business development mission to Mexico, and she has already met with several of her Mexican counterparts to discuss the countries’bilateral commercial relationship and opportunities for U.S. businesses.

On Monday evening, Secretary Pritzker talked with Luis Videgaray, Secretary of Finance, about increasing efficiency at the border. Secretary Pritzker and Secretary Videgaray have met four times, including in September at the High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) in Mexico City.

On Tuesday, Secretary Pritzker met with three more Mexican leaders to discuss trade and investment between the United States and Mexico. In the morning, she sat down with Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Secretary of Economy. Their conversation also focused on the progress of the HLED and the need to continue to do more to incorporate stakeholder input and regularly monitor progress. Before their meeting ended, Secretary Guajardo lead Secretary Pritzker on a quick tour of the “NAFTA at 20” exhibit, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the implementation of the free trade agreement. Negotiations are currently underway for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which updates some of the provisions of NAFTA and will cover trade between the United States, Mexico, Canada, and nine other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Later that morning, Secretary Pritzker joined Under Secretary for Communications Jose Ignacio Peralta, Under Secretary for Infrastructure Juan Murietta, and Under Secretary for Transportation Carlos Almada for a meeting with part of the U.S. business delegation. Under Secretary Peralta gave the companies an overview of Mexico’s recently-passed telecommunications reforms and shared further opportunities for U.S. companies invest in Mexico’s telecommunications and IT sectors.

Finally, on Tuesday evening Secretary Pritzker met with Mercedes Juan Lopez, Secretary of Health, as well as other Mexican officials and several of the U.S. firms in the business delegation. Secretary Pritzker briefly discussed ways for the United States and Mexico to work together on fast track procedures for medical device approval. Secretary Juan talked to the U.S. delegation about opportunities in the health services and healthcare IT markets, and mentioned the importance of innnovation and technological improvement.

These meetings are one way for the U.S. business delegation to gain important information about expanding into the Mexican market and build relationships in-country. Throughout the week-long business development mission, U.S. companies will get the chance to meet with government and business leaders in Mexico to make connections and learn about potential opportunities to expand their exports to Mexico’s growing key industries, including advanced manufacturing, information and communications technology, and health IT and medical devices.