WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mexican and U.S. business leaders met with senior government officials from both countries at the 13th U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Consejo Coordinador Empresarial (CCE) to boost economic growth, strengthen competitiveness, and increase trade and investment between the United States and Mexico.
The event was held on September 28 on the margins of the U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) and included the participation of Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena, Mexican Secretary of Economy Raquel Buenrostro, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard R. Verma, U.S. Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade Diane Farrell, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jayme White, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar, and Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Esteban Moctezuma Barragán, in addition to other officials from both countries. Co-chairs Pat Ottensmeyer, Advisor to the CEO of Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and Guillermo Vogel, Vice Chairman of the Board of Tenaris, were joined by executives from companies including FedEx, Chubb, Amazon, Sempra, IBC, Honeywell, Bank of America, GE Health, Mexico Pacific, Martinrea, 3M, Pfizer, and Walmart, Tenaris, Ternium, Grupo Alfa, Prodensa, BIVA, Protexa, Saavi Energy, DeAcero, among other U.S. and Mexican companies.
“In our bilateral relationship, the private sector must serve as a bridge of continuity,” said Suzanne P. Clark, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “The relationship between the U.S. and Mexico is strongest when we stand firm on our shared values—democracy, free enterprise, open markets, the rule of law. We need advocates—including CCE and the U.S. Chamber—to continue working together to support the businesses of all sizes across all sectors that drive growth, innovation, and solutions to make North America the most competitive region in the world.”
The gathered executives called on the U.S. and Mexican governments to advance shared priorities, including:
- Ensuring accountability in USMCA compliance
- Strengthening the business climate in both of our economies, with a focus on regulatory transparency and certainty, and avoiding overreach
- Promoting secure, efficient cross-border trade through a regularized customs dialogue with the private sector, and concrete measures to enhance operations at ports of entry and Trusted Trader programs
- Investing in and developing reliable, affordable, and clean energy to fuel our shared growth
- Expanding connectivity and financial inclusion to power the small businesses that grow our economies
- The CEO Dialogue leadership underscored the importance of these measures to boost efforts to attract more nearshoring and enhance regional economic integration. To meet this moment, the companies called for strong bilateral cooperation between the governments, as well as with the U.S. and Mexican private sectors, through open and regular dialogue, including using USMCA mechanisms.
Addressing nearshoring, Francisco Cervantes, President of CCE, said that “we need to seize the of opportunity to build more resilient supply chains and potential for attracting nearshoring. The USMCA offers the legal and institutional infrastructure to strengthen North American competitiveness. I am convinced that the proposals presented today by the CEO Dialogue offer a clear roadmap to advance the strategic objectives that the new global reality demands from the region.”
The U.S. and Mexican business communities look forward to working with both governments to achieve shared economic and policy objectives to boost North American competitiveness.
