Preparatory Briefing on Mexico

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Preparatory Briefing on Mexico Preparatory Briefing on Mexico Project name Supporting international cluster and business network cooperation through the further development of the European Cluster Collaboration Platform Project acronym ECCP Deliverable title and number D 3.2. (3) – Preparatory Briefing on Mexico Related work package WP3 Deliverable lead, and partners SPI involved Reviewed by inno TSD Contractual delivery date M12 Actual delivery date M15– December 2016 (Updated: March 2019) Start date of project September, 23rd 2015 Duration 2 years Document version V2.0 Abstract: The preparatory briefing on Mexico is the result of the collection of relevant cluster information in the country, including business and sector trends, cluster policies and programmes, as well as a cluster mapping. It concentrates on Mexican clusters in four relevant industrial sectors. This document is intended to provide a good overview of the country’s opportunities for European cluster organisations and SMEs. © — 2018 – European Union. All rights reserved The information and views set out in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) or of the Commission. Neither EASME, nor the Commission can guarantee the accuracy of the data include d in this study. Neither EASME, nor the Commission or any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. Preparatory Briefing on Mexico Table of contents 1. Objective of the report .................................................................................................................... 3 2. The economy of Mexico: focus on sectoral trends ......................................................................... 3 2.1 Overview .................................................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Opportunities for Europe – investment, trade and Science, Technology & Innovation cooperation ......................................................................................................................................... 4 2.3 Sectoral strengths .................................................................................................................... 7 3. Cluster community in Mexico ........................................................................................................ 14 3.1 Cluster mapping .................................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Clusters in automotive, aerospace, renewable energy and ICT ............................................ 16 4. Cluster policies and programmes in Mexico ................................................................................. 25 4.1 The cluster policy of Mexico .................................................................................................. 25 4.2 Automotive policies and programmes .................................................................................. 26 4.3 Aerospace policies and programmes .................................................................................... 28 4.4 Renewable Energy policies and programmes ....................................................................... 29 4.5 ICT policy and programmes ................................................................................................... 30 5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 31 6. Annex ............................................................................................................................................. 33 Table of figures Figure 1 – Annual GDP Growth (2000-2017) in Mexico .......................................................................... 5 FIGURE 2 – MAIN AEROSPACE CLUSTERS IN MEXICO- BY STATE .......................................................................... 19 Table of tables Table 1 - Industry and Sectorial priorities for trade and Investment .................................................... 14 Table 2 - Mexican clusters with ECEI’s quality labelling ........................................................................ 15 Table 3 - Automotive cluster’s main subsectors and locations ............................................................. 16 Table 4 - Top locations of Mexico’s Renewable Energy projects .......................................................... 21 Table 5 - ICT Clusters ............................................................................................................................. 23 Table 6 – Formally organised clusters by state ..................................................................................... 33 Table 7 – Examples of EU-Mexico cooperation programmes and projects .......................................... 36 p.2 Preparatory Briefing on Mexico 1. Objective of the report The aim of this Preparatory Briefing is to provide up to date information on the cluster landscape in Mexico in order to support European cluster organisations and their SME members explore the potential for collaboration and market opportunities. More specifically, this document provides an overview of the country’s economy and sectoral trends/strengths where EU and Mexican clusters can cooperate. In addition, it outlines the existing cluster community, the cluster policies, local support to clusters and the support programmes in the selected key areas, including their historical development and internationalisation activity when appropriate. A complementary report provides an overview on the existing EU-Mexico cluster cooperation, present related good practices/success stories and opportunities for future exchange, including recommendations for an EU-Mexico cluster policy dialogue (non-public information). 2. The economy of Mexico: focus on sectoral trends 2.1 Overview The Mexican economy is the second largest in Latin America, growing at a moderate annual growth rate of around 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)1. In 2017, Mexico’s economy was the 11th largest in the world; however, it remains vulnerable to the uncertainty arising from the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations2. In 1997, Mexico signed an Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, which entered into force in 2000. However, in April 2018, the EU and Mexico reached an ‘agreement in principle’ on the trade part of a modernised EU-Mexico Global Agreement, which will replace the previous agreement3. In 2017, the EU was Mexico's second largest export market after the USA. Moreover, the EU was Mexico's third-largest source of imports in 2017, after the USA and China. The EU’s key exports to Mexico include machinery and appliances (25.2%), transport equipment (23.5%), mineral products (18%), optical and photographic instruments (12%), and products of the chemical or allied industries (3.6%). On the other hand, the EU's key imports from Mexico include machinery and appliances (35.9%), transport equipment (16.5%), products of the chemical or allied industries (14.3%), base metals and articles thereof (7.5%), and plastics, rubber and articles thereof (4.8%)4. In terms of 1 Information about Mexico’s economy at: World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/mexico/overview#1 2 The World Factbook, Mexico : www.cia.gov/llibrary/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html 3 EU-Mexico Trade Agreement : http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/eu-mexico-trade-agreement/ 4 European Union, Trade in goods with Mexico https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/isdb_results/factsheets/country/details_mexico_en.pdf p.3 Preparatory Briefing on Mexico services, EU imports from Mexico are dominated by travel services and transport services. EU services exports to Mexico consist mainly of transport services, and telecommunications, computer and information services5. Regarding the EU-Mexico foreign direct investment (FDI) balance, in 2016 the EU invested €137.3 billion in Mexico; while Mexico invested €42.3 billion in the EU. In 1994, Mexico, Canada and the United States of America (USA) established NAFTA with the aim of promoting a gradual elimination of tariffs and import quotas, as well as removing barriers to free trade among the three countries. In addition, Mexico is an associate country of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), a South American trade bloc composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, as well as a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G206. 2.2 Opportunities for Europe – investment, trade and Science, Technology & Innovation cooperation According to the 2018 Global Competitiveness Index, Mexico is ranked 46th out of a total of 140 countries7. Mexico’s GDP Annual Growth has shown several fluctuations over the last 17 years (minimum -5.2% in 2009 and maximum 5.1% in 2010). Since 2013, Mexico’s annual GDP growth has been below expectations and is forecasted to remain at an average of 2% per year due to the reduction of oil production, weak oil prices, structural issues such as low productivity and high inequality, a large informal sector employing over half of the workforce, and high corruption levels8. Moreover, policy uncertainty related to NAFTA’s renegotiations is also expected to contribute to Mexico’s moderate annual growth (Figure 1)9. 5 Trade relation
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