Mexico Market Intelligence Archivos - North Carolina in Mexico

Can Sheinbaum do What Vicente Fox Couldn’t?

neighborsmx2 — Thu, 21 May 2026 23:56:30 +0000

The most important thing happening to Mexican business right now is not preparations for the World Cup nor shake-ups in global manufacturing. It is the decisions Claudia Sheinbaum and her ruling Morena party are making regarding how thoroughly to purge (or not) the influence of organized crime cartels from Mexico’s ruling classes.

A heavy topic, but the even larger question is whether Mexican leadership is working towards reform of the corrupt corporatist system inherited from the 20th century PRI party dictatorship. In its unbroken reign of 71 years, the PRI party cultivated profession-based political machines to maintain voter majorities. Transportation workers, electricians, teachers, and petroleum industry workers organized into what were nominally labor unions, but rather than worker protection were dedicated to consolidating political power for the PRI. Those groups lost their allegiance to the PRI when it finally lost its dominance, and they have remained to serve whomever in power is willing to use them.

Vicente Fox “broke” the PRI monopoly in 2000 by, as an opposition party candidate (PAN), getting elected president. He had a genuine agenda to reform corruption, including the growing influence of organized crime, but the PRI still ran the legislature and the political machines their corresponding spheres of influence.

Image from the PartidoMorenaMX Facebook page: “Defending sovereignty is for the good of Mexico”

Following the Fox administration came another Panista, Felipe Calderon, widely recognized for his genuine desire for reform. Unfortunately by that stage (2006) reform needed to first deal with the narcos. Accordingly, Calderon directed confrontation of organized crime groups by a (now-defunct) Federal Police corps and the military, with backing from the US. The effort was violently unsuccessful. The PRI president who followed him, Enrique Peña Nieto, elected in 2012, put Calderon’s unpopular drug war on the back burner in favor of a focus on energy, which AMLO continued when he entered office in 2018. The drug war stayed on that back burner, still boiling, into the Sheinbaum administration.

With AMLO, however, something changed. The 30-percent margin of victory in his presidential election came with the pledge to reverse the Peña Nieto government’s complicity towards the narcos, yet he went further than simply ignoring the narco problem. Real criminal allegations now exist that Morena, under his leadership, actively folded narcos into its political machine, alongside the teachers, electricians and the transport workers.

Sheinbaum is now faced with an even worse narco problem than her predecessors. The US bringing the problem of their influence out in the open (when so many Mexicans who tried to do the same have been ignored) has brought systemic corruption– the same reason the PRI lost power 26 years ago– back to the forefront of national conversation. In that sense, President Sheinbaum has the opportunity to make history, even more so than Vicente Fox. Will she, though?

There have been signs since she entered office: the appointment of Omar García Harfuch as head of federal law enforcement; the shaking out of lower-level overtly corrupt officials. Since late 2024, Sheinbaum’s administration has arrested some 147 individuals across multiple states, including sitting and former mayors and municipal security directors, showing a willingness to go after her own party that her predecessors lacked. As of January 2026, about 30 percent of those arrested had been convicted. This is quite high for Mexico, where the average rate of successful prosecution is around 7 percent.

In late April, the US announced it would seek extradition of the Governor of Sinaloa and 9 other sitting officials for their cartel connections. In response, the Mexican administration on the surface may be seen as dragging its feet. They can either hand over the individuals the US seeks, or more satisfyingly to most Mexicans, prosecute and convict them in Mexico. Nevermind that leading effective law enforcement against officials that high up (and the US threatens there are more to come) would burn bridges for her. Doing so could become life-threatening to people around her. The extent to which her and her circle’s livelihoods are put in danger would depend on how successful such law enforcement campaigns turned out to be. With or without real US support, that is a gamble.

But why would the US want to support these prosecutions? Why the pressure on Sheinbaum, the extradition orders? Beyond the political goals of the current US presidential administration, the business community in Mexico, including many US companies here, and the larger community of the integrated North American market, see one fundamental reason really clearly and has for a long time: the main obstacle to productivity in Mexico is failed rule of law; impunity due to the influence of organized crime and an inherited corrupt system. Following that main obstacle are other persistent obstacles related to energy, education, and transportation. Areas historically underdeveloped thanks to being appropriated for political gain. The US wants Mexico to reform, because that will help its economic growth. The expectation to make Mexico a better customer, supplier, investor and neighbor in an increasingly interdependent North American bloc.

Since Sheinbaum took office, the word “sovereignty” is a recurring affirmation in Morena party talking points. Sheinbaum says it all the time, as do Morenista senators and congressmen. Their repetition of the term can feel tiring. It gives the impression that they believe Mexico’s sovereignty is under attack, whether by the US, the narcos, or the political machines. If the word is being held up with enough self-awareness though, by enough people in the Morena party, then maybe there is hope that Sheinbaum will be able to do the right thing and survive.

El cargo Can Sheinbaum do What Vicente Fox Couldn’t? apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.

Mexico’s Automotive Industry – Towards Factory Versatility

neighborsmx2 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:17:31 +0000

Automotive manufacturers headquartered in the US and Europe were widely reported as at the “end of EV euphoria” in 2025, writing down and pivoting investments in EV production due to slower-than-expected sales.

A lot of this is related to the behavior of governments with subsidies– in the US, subsidies and incentives for EV drivers were withdrawn, and of course in China the production boom is subsidized by the government there. In Europe’s case, sales are more affected by the latter but also by Chinese automotive’s speed in bringing new designs into production. This was observed in last year’s book Apple in China by Patrick McGee, discussing how EV production imitates that of cell phones; or for a shorter read, [European] Carmakers copy China to get new models on the road faster was published in December in the Financial Times.

But what does this mean for Mexico, where European, US, Japanese and Korean carmakers keep opening up new production lines, even as they allow other legacy lines to close down? For the time being, Mexican automotive production is geared overwhelmingly for passenger vehicles to be exported to the United States. So the entry of Chinese vehicles for Mexican drivers affects the actual production and investment much less than it has in Europe.

What we actually see is the companies investing in factories that are versatile enough to do combustion, hybrid and EV cars.

BMW — San Luis Potosi EV conversion

Confirmed investment to produce Neue Klasse EVs (including iX3)
Battery module assembly included

Real capital deployment, but still the conversion of an existing plant, not net new capacity

General Motors — Ramos Arizpe expansion

Continued EV production ramp (Blazer EV, Equinox EV)
Additional supplier and component investments tied to EV transition
Follow-on investment to an existing EV hub

Stellantis — Saltillo electrification

Investments tied to EV trucks/vans (RAM EV platform)
Platform transition spending: keeps existing footprint relevant rather than expanding total capacity

Plant flexibility is a risk-management decision first– the automotive companies are hedging their bets. However it has a secondary strategic benefit: it makes it easier for OEMs to adjust product mix and respond to faster design cycles, which are becoming more important competitively.

Automotive companies assembling electric vehicles in Mexico, current and planned 2024. Source: Cluster Industrial

Below are some basic numbers and facts.

Mexico produced about 3.9 million passenger vehicles last year (2025), and exported 3.4 million of them, 99 percent of those to the US. This was less than a 1 percent drop from 2024, which was a record year.
Mexicans in 2025 purchased about 1.6 million new vehicles. 600,000 produced in Mexico, and another 1 million imported.
By value of the finished new vehicles, 29 percent of the imports came from China in 2024, and another 25 percent from the US. This likely means a higher percentage of actual vehicle units imported from China.
Chinese vehicles imported by Mexico are not just BYD, MG and Changan. General Motors, Volvo, Volkswagen and other Western brands produce vehicles in China for sale in Mexico.
Of the 37 passenger assembly plants in Mexico, the brands are virtually all from Japan, Korea, Germany and the US.
None are Mexican, unless you count the JV of one “completely knocked down” production plant between China’s JAC and Carlos Slim, though some Mexican (EV) production sites are in the works.
Mexico in 2024 became the “#1 source” of foreign-manufactured EVs sold in the US: 145,000 that year, worth over 8.2 billion USD. Mexico nationally produced 220,000 that same year, implying about 75,000 were sold domestically.
Electric vehicles bound for the US that Mexico produces include the Audi Q5; Chevrolet’s Equinox EV and Blazer EV; Ford Mustang Mach-E; Honda Prologue EV; Cadillac Optiq; RAM Promaster EV and 1500 EV, and the Jeep Wagoneer S. BMW has an EV plant underway in Mexico as well, scheduled to start producing iX3 EVs next year.
Mexico’s total EV production in 2025 was about 250,000 vehicles, including full-electric and hybrids. 200,000 were exported.
Mexican car owners purchased about 96,600 EVs in 2025. This is about 6 percent of Mexico’s new vehicle sales to consumers, and 40 percent above the number they bought in 2024.
By dollar value, Mexico imported in 2024 about 2.8 billion USD worth of EVs and hybrids. This could be anywhere between 40,000 and 140,000 vehicles.
Despite China surpassing the US by value of total vehicle imports into Mexico that year, for EVs, the US actually outsold China, mainly thanks to imports of US hybrid vehicles into Mexico. US-made vehicles were responsible for 48 percent of electric vehicles imported into Mexico, and China 42 percent. That is by dollar value. Given the big price differences between US and Chinese EVs, however, China could still have supplied almost double the number of EVs as the US. Germany, Canada and Japan also sold some EVs to Mexico.
Imports of electric vehicles in 2024 were double (108-128 percent more) than 2023 imports by value, led by plug-in hybrids and pure plug-ins. Conventional hybrids were also up 22 percent that year.
Mexico’s only Chinese plant, JAC, has reached a production output of 60,000 cars a year, pretty much all destined for final sale in Mexico, in 2025.

El cargo Mexico’s Automotive Industry – Towards Factory Versatility apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.

2026 Trade Volatility: USMCA Edition

neighborsmx2 — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 19:31:18 +0000

A Living Treaty: the 2026 USMCA Review

The review of USMCA scheduled for July 1, 2026 is baked into the treaty itself (Article 34.7), with U.S. change proposals due to Congress by June 1. As of March 2026, all three countries are actively engaged in preparation for that review — a positive signal for the regional business community navigating an otherwise volatile trade environment.

The USMCA is a living document not just because it includes regular opportunities for review and update, but because it allows for interpretation mechanisms. Dispute settlement is one of them, seen in agricultural matters (e.g., GMO corn, settled) and in energy (e.g., market advantages granted to Mexico’s national electrical utility, still in dispute). Another is the treaty’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism, which applies to labor complaints about Mexico facilities and can only be filed by the U.S. Government. Through the end of 2024 the mechanism saw 31 formal complaints and six panels, mostly regarding workers’ rights at Mexican automotive and manufacturing plants, but also at mines and a call center.

As a concrete indicator that the treaty remains active under Trump 47, on February 19, 2026 the USTR launched a review of USMCA automotive rules of origin. The minimum content for a vehicle to be considered North American is currently 75 percent, 40 percent of which must be made in the U.S. or Canada and must include core components like engines, transmissions, and chassis. Any proposals to change or maintain these thresholds will be addressed in July and factored into the USTR review, due in 2027.

The perspective from Mexico is that the review is a timely opportunity to revisit tough issues. The elephants in the room are Mexico’s energy relationship with the U.S., where all three parties stand vis-à-vis China, and — though not directly addressed by the treaty — organized crime. Various voices in Mexico have speculated that the review process will likely become drawn out, but not enough to destabilize the agreement. Kenneth Smith Ramos, former USMCA negotiator, recently discussed this on the Trucking Matters podcast. Juan Carlos Baker is another USMCA watcher who has assessed in depth the factors in play.

Source: Juan Carlos Baker and Diego Marroquin Bitar article on CSIS (www.csis.org/analysis/inside-mechanics-2026-usmca-review)

The USMCA as a Regional Stabilizer

While this year’s “talks” may take longer to finalize than desired, they are both mandated by the agreement and welcome. The more dynamic and relevant the agreement the better it is for the region, especially in the midst of such fast-paced changes as we are living in trade with the rise of AI, Mexico’s recent fever pitch to establish rule of law and protect its sovereignty, and the US’s internal wake-up calls with respect to semiconductor and other manufacturing self-reliance.

Mexico-US Security Cooperation

The most important fundamental is this rule of law struggle. The US has clearly demonstrated in its actions, as far back as the GW Bush administration and now under Trump 47, that it considers the situation with Mexican-controlled organized crime groups a binational, shared problem. With Trump’s nomination in late 2024 of Ambassador Ron Johnson, the US showed that it was tapping into the experience of serious, well-informed and well-prepared advisors on the matter, which is normally framed as “stopping fentanyl trafficking.”

Meanwhile, considering Trump’s tendency to condition trade on his desired outcomes in diplomatic issues, it seems to follow that if the US’s anti-cartel cooperation with Mexico continues to succeed, Trump may be more likely to publicly “reward” Mexico’s position as the most important trade partner to the US. In that case, a re-affirmed and updated USMCA would be the path of least resistance for doing so. Indeed, the strength of Mexico’s economy and what it can contribute as a trade partner depend in very critical ways on reining in the influence of organized crime in Mexico. If US-Mexico trade has performed well in Mexico’s environment of the last 20 years, imagine what Mexico as a trade partner could do with a healthier rule of law environment.

Industry Opinion and Industrial Policy

The industrial policy outcomes desired by the US are less clearly demonstrated by the US Federal Government. It wants to “bring manufacturing jobs back” to the US, yet the proponents of automation, who are the technological voice of our times, seem to have the administration’s ear. On the other hand, the objective of the US from the perspective of the US business community: please create regulations that are predictable and stable. From a USMCA lens, that generally means let’s keep up the North American market integration we have been investing in since NAFTA in 1994. Specific comments can be reviewed in the USMCA public docket section of the USTR’s website, with a separate comments section specifically for automotive. One of the most resounding success cases of that integration is the interconnected North American manufacturing platform, but also agriculture and services. The concrete common ground among these goals, of the companies and of the US Government, may be how to remain competitive with China. On AI, on automotive, on electronics, on infrastructure investment. These are topics that can all be addressed in July and with a little work, adopted as updates to the existing USMCA agreement.

Mexico, just like the US, conducted work groups to consult with industry. 30 sessions since September 2025, and recently reported that 83 percent of the parties consulted by the Secretariat of the Economy view the treaty as positive or very positive. The stakeholder consultations led by Economy, including two we attended through AmCham Mexico, emphasized streamlining customs procedures, harmonizing documentation requirements, improving border infrastructure, and reducing non-tariff barriers. Mexico is also supposed to want clarity on the labor rapid response mechanisms, to ensure transparency in the future. Various spokespeople we hear at Economy have referenced the US’s list of USMCA “concerns” (often citing he term in English) over the last several months. Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s Secretary of the Economy, now notes that nearly all 54 of those points have been resolved during continuous talks.

Ebrard is travelling to Washington again March 16, and he is expected to focus on proposals to eliminate or lower tariffs, as well as to take the US and Canada’s interest in increasing regional content as a chance to deepen supply chain integration not just in automotive but also in sectors like electronics, medical devices, and textiles. In general Mexico will look to advance regional supply chain coordination, critical minerals cooperation, and industrial policy alignment to reinforce Mexico’s role as a manufacturing hub.

With regards to the other two elephants in the room besides security, Mexico may seek clearer interpretive understandings on energy to reduce the risk of future disputes on Mexico’s energy sovereignty. On the topic of China, Mexico in 2024 and 2025 already began stepping up country-of-origin verification and customs enforcement, for rule of law and transparency reasons but also in alignment with increased pressure from the US to enhance compliance. It may seek to use that cooperation to protect its ability to allow lawful and compliant foreign investment coming from China, which is a trend also likely to help Mexico consolidate its role as North American manufacturing hub.

Public Statements on the USMCA Review

Examples from US industrial associations.

Group	Link to Policy Position / Task Force Microsite
National Association of Manufacturers	The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Evaluating North American Competitiveness; Read our letter to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on the operation of the USMCA; The Promise of the USMCA
American Chemistry Council	Joint Recommendation from the Combined North American Chemical Industry; USMCA/CUSMA/T-MEC Sectoral Working Group on Chemicals
Semiconductor Industry Association	SIA Comments on USTR’s Joint Review of USMCA
Agricultural Coalition of USMCA	United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Works for America
Information Technology Industry Council	Ahead of USMCA Review, ITI Sends USTR New Recommendations
The Business Council for Sustainable Energy	North American Trade Policy Is Under Review in 2026. Here’s Why Energy Businesses Should Pay Attention
American Apparel and Footwear Association	AAFA Testimony Endorses USMCA as Strong, Stable, and Vital
A coalition of 500 US business and agriculture organizations	Coalition Letter in Support of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
Automotive Industry Action Group	The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is an update to NAFTA that impacts billions of dollars’ worth of interregional trade. AIAG’s USMCA Work Group comprises OEM and tier 1 supplier volunteers
US Lumber Coalition	U.S. Lumber Coalition Calls on Trump Administration to Scrap USMCA Binational Panel Review System
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council	By securing stronger IP commitments from Mexico and Canada during the 2026 joint review, USTR can help realize President Trump’s original intent for the USMCA

El cargo 2026 Trade Volatility: USMCA Edition apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.

Mexico Offers Textile Industry Boost

neighborsmx2 — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 22:17:04 +0000

Mexico and North Carolina in many ways have a shared story in textiles. Both regions have a remarkable history as innovators and producers in the industry, and both were forced to change tack at the end of the 20th and start of the 21st centuries as global competition drove prices down. In North Carolina’s case, the key for the industry to thrive became a focus on innovation: intellectual property, design, research and development, and capital assets. For Mexico, the scenario was for companies to pivot to export-focused manufacturing (maquila, often for workwear and footwear) and technical textiles for the automotive and agricultural industries.Nevertheless, the industry in Mexico continued to suffer from a lack of investment and innovation, with dramatically reduced output overall. In 2024, the Mexican government began to take action to protect the remaining manufacturers by implementing new tariffs on textile imports from Asia, which were fortified in various ways throughout 2025. Most recently, and to our view perhaps of most fundamental importance, Mexico’s industrial strategy now includes financing for small and medium companies in textile production, with the explicit goal of helping them become more globally competitive in terms of added value, ie to help them invest in more innovative production operations.Financing initiatives announced late in 2025 to help companies invest in added value production include 6 billion USD equivalent to guarantee loans from the bank BBVA, for small and medium companies investing in textile and footwear supply chain productivity and competitiveness. (Mexico’s banks are historically horrendous at offering affordable loans to small and medium businesses due to structural inefficiencies making it difficult to guarantee repayment.)

Other measures include enhanced but precise (so as not to affect critical inputs) tariffs and less unpredictable customs enforcement. As former Congressman Salomon Rosas, now director of competitiveness and capabilities within Mexico’s secretariat of the economy, recently told Expansión magazine that he has been talking to the textile industry for 15 years and the complaint has been the same, that unfair competition from Chinese textile imports is what is keeping players from investing in machinery and innovation.

This amidst ever-increasing pressure to shore up and regionalize other important supply chains in North America, many of which include textile inputs (medical supplies, automotive, aerospace). Critical to facilitating this push for innovation in Mexico’s textile applications and industries will be not only Mexico ally organizations like CANAINTEX, ANIQ and COFOCE Guanajuato, but also input from and collaboration with North Carolina textile exporters. Stay tuned for updates from EDPNC on our upcoming textiles trade mission to Mexico City, Mexico State, and Queretaro and Guanajuato of the Bajio region. Meanwhile, below, we offer some numbers on the types of mills that are currently active in present in Mexico.

Census of Mexico Textile Mills by Activity

NAICS	Activity	Total Plants	Large (>250)	Medium (30-250)
313210	Broadwoven Fabric Mills	875	32	93
314120	Curtain and Linen Mills	1,843	16	50
313310	Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills	543	9	41
313112	Yarn Texturizing, Throwing, and Twisting Mills	152	9	38
313113	Thread Mills	266	7	38
313220	Narrow Fabric Mills and Schiffli Machine Embroidery	265	5	33
314911	Textile Bag Mills	180	13	32
314991	Rope, Cordage, Twine, Tire Cord, and Tire Fabric Mills	25,798	3	26
314992	Tire Cord and Tire Fabric Mills	10,148	2	26
313320	Fabric Coating Mills	118	10	21
313230	Nonwoven Fabric Mills	56	6	19
313240	Knit Fabric Mills	261	10	16
314912	Canvas and Related Product Mills	682	4	15
313111	Yarn Spinning Mills	15,982	0	14
314110	Carpet and Rug Mills	1,359	1	8
314999	All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills	38	1	5
314993	Textile Bag and Canvas Mills	113	0	4

Source: analysis of DENUE by Neighbors International

Additional sources for this blog posting:

https://www.modaes.com/global/markets/mexico-promotes-a-uss65-billion-plan-to-relaunch-textile-and-footwear-sectors
https://mexicobusiness.news/ecommerce/news/mexicos-textile-industry-eyes-recovery-amid-low-capacity
https://mexicobusiness.news/trade-and-investment/news/ministry-economy-bbva-modernize-textile-and-footwear-sectors
https://www.hinrichfoundation.com/research/article/trade-distortion-and-protectionism/mexico-protectionism-new-tariffs-impact
https://revistaprotocolo.com.mx/mexico-protagonista-del-impulso-global-de-textiles-lafayette-rumbo-a-2026/
https://expansion.mx/empresas/2026/02/03/ropa-mexicana-crisis-razones-ahorcan-industria-textil
https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/empresas/intermoda-pide-textileros-recuperar-industria-nacional-20260123-796677.html
https://canaintex.org.mx/canaintex-participa-en-las-mesas-tematicas-de-los-foros-de-diagnostico-sectorial-del-t-mec/

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Mexico Data Center Construction in Hyperscale Mode

neighborsmx2 — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:32:29 +0000

In 2025 we received several inquiries about opportunities related to data centers being built in Mexico. Mexico’s data center growth heading into 2026 is hyperscale, attending both the US and Mexican markets for cloud services, and it moves in steps with supplementation of energy infrastructure. Development activity is heavily concentrated in Queretaro and the adjacent Bajio region, where data center design often contemplates a degree of energy self-supply, and timelines are increasingly governed by power delivery, substation construction, and grid interconnection readiness. NC exporters in electricity management may therefore have some interesting opportunities.

Founding associates of the Mexican data center association MEXDC are Ascenty, Odata, Equinix, Layer 9, DCD, Kio, and Scala. Other members are Alestra, CloudHQ, EdgeNet, HostDime, Megacable, and MTP, and a more complete list including construction partners can be viewed here.

Data Centers Under Construction

New facilities are being designed around AI-ready specifications, including higher-density racks, redundant power paths, large-scale UPS systems, and extensive backup generation. Developers are pairing campuses with dedicated substations, semi-private transmission upgrades, and multi-carrier fiber routes to manage congestion and interconnection risk. Cooling strategies increasingly emphasize air-cooled or hybrid designs. That is due to water constraints, but also the need to limit incremental electrical load in already stressed basins.

Hyperscaler-owned clouds (operator-built)

These are not colocation campuses but direct hyperscaler infrastructure. The telecom and cloud companies own the centers. As a result, not much information about them is disclosed. Like most locales in the US, there is no law obligating transparency around their construction.

Telmex – new data center (northeaster Mexico)
Telmex has publicly stated it will bring a new data center online in 2026. While not branded as hyperscale, Telmex facilities often underpin cloud regions, edge aggregation, and national-scale workloads. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in Mexico operates a cloud region in a partnership with Telmex.
Nuevo Leon AI / HPC project (AI-GDC + Cipre Holding)
Announced as a large AI and high-performance computing facility with phased development starting in 2026. Marketed around GPU-intensive workloads rather than general colocation, placing it adjacent to hyperscale AI infrastructure even if not a classic cloud campus.
Amazon Web Services – Mexico (Central) Region, Queretaro
Multi-availability-zone cloud region launched in 2025. Built as hyperscale infrastructure with redundancy across multiple facilities. Expansion within the region is ongoing through 2026 as capacity is added behind the initial launch.
Google Cloud – Mexico Cloud Region, Queretaro
Announced in late 2024 and operational entering 2025. Structured as a full cloud region rather than a single facility, with additional capacity added incrementally as demand and power availability allow.
Microsoft – Azure Mexico Region (Queretaro area)
Microsoft’s hyperscale cloud region in Mexico, designed for enterprise, government, and regional workloads. As with other Azure regions, capacity is added in phases rather than as a single disclosed campus.

Large colocation / campus developers

CloudHQ has outlined a six–data center campus in Queretaro tied to a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar investment, with private and grid-adjacent power infrastructure embedded directly into the site plan.
ODATA (Aligned Data Centers) continues phased development of its QR03 campus, publicly described as reaching up to 300 MW of IT capacity across multiple buildings.
Ascenty (Digital Realty / Brookfield) – Queretaro campus
Ascenty has two operational data centers in Queretaro and a third facility publicly described as “in development.” The campus model is explicitly hyperscale-oriented, with phased build-out dependent on power availability and anchor tenants. Digital Realty’s involvement in Mexico is partly through Ascenty, but it also appears in operator listings tied to Queretaro’s hyperscale corridor, reinforcing the institutional investor and hyperscale colocation layer.
Equinix – Mexico (including Queretaro)
Equinix operates carrier-neutral facilities in Mexico and is positioning them to support hyperscale adjacency, interconnection, and enterprise-to-cloud architectures.

Energy constraints

An overview of Mexico’s energy context in English can be read here. Energy availability is the main planning variable shaping Mexico’s data center pipeline in 2026. In Queretaro and surrounding regions, grid capacity and interconnection timing have overtaken real estate considerations as the primary bottleneck. Developers are sequencing projects around confirmed power delivery milestones, which stretches multi-phase campuses over longer timelines and front-loads capital into electrical infrastructure well before meaningful IT load is energized. As a result, firm go-live dates are often replaced by phased commissioning schedules tied explicitly to power readiness.

This environment has normalized a degree of power self-reliance at the project level. Dedicated or semi-dedicated substations, long-term private power purchase agreements, and substantial on-site backup generation are now standard assumptions in hyperscale projects. In some cases, diesel or gas generation is used not only for resilience but as a temporary bridge while grid upgrades are completed. While this approach reduces execution risk for individual campuses, it introduces additional complexity around fuel logistics, emissions compliance, operating costs, and contract structure—factors that increasingly influence tenant selection and pricing models.

Energy constraints are also reshaping design decisions. Although facilities are marketed as AI-capable, many projects prioritize electrical redundancy, modular build-out, and phased load growth over extreme rack density. The limiting factor is often sustained power delivery rather than cooling capacity alone. As a result, developers favor architectures that allow IT load to ramp gradually as additional power becomes available, rather than committing to full campus utilization at launch.

Outside the Queretaro core, 2026 activity is less significantl. We cite the Telmex “northeastern” data center and the new center in Nuevo Leon, an AI/high-performance facility positioned around GPU-intensive workloads. These are geographic outliers– growth is focused in the Queretaro-Bajio region northwest of Mexico City.

As one last point, this growth comes as a way to not only give Mexico local data centers (where it has previously directed traffic through US locations), but it also is seen as a strategic extension of North American hyperscale capacity. Mexican data center growth in that sense is North American. It is driven by US cloud demand and regional architecture decisions as well as Mexican, while shaped by Mexico domestic energy availability.

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Tariff Strategies for Mexico

neighborsmx2 — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 17:48:31 +0000

This blog entry was updated December 11, 2025 to include mention of legislation passed that will tax imports, including significant categories in textiles, metals and automotive, from Asia and Brazil.

North Carolina manufacturers turned out in unusually high numbers for EDPNC and the NC MEP’s recent Tariff Strategies export education webinar. The session that EDPNC hosted, presented by celebrated international export educator Mike Alloca, provided practical guidance on managing duty exposure that affects sourcing, pricing, and competitiveness. Aimed at manufacturers of all sizes, many of whom do not maintain in-house trade compliance teams, the webinar discussed topics like classification practices, rules of origin, tariff-engineering options, duty-drawback procedures, and tools for modeling landed costs.

Tariff strategies for Mexico involve understanding how duties are calculated under the Ley de los Impuestos Generales de Importacion y Exportacion (LIGIE), how companies position their products under USMCA rules, and what mechanisms exist to reduce or defer duties. The practical strategies are very similar to the US for most companies and involve product classification, origin management, valuation, and special programs. The main strategy variations for Mexico versus the US are two-fold:

Pay close attention to Mexico’s strategic sectors and what are the HS codes it is focused on (footwear, apparel, textiles, plastics, steel, chemicals and consumer goods; see update on new tariffs against non-FTA countries at the end of this post).

Historically customs enforcement in Mexico has been opaque and inconsistent, which has created a lot of uncertainty for our exporters and their customers in Mexico. Exporters should take any signs of hesitation by importer counterparts, whether they be customers or distributors, as opportunities to discuss concerns on whether a product will make it into the country smoothly.

Fortunately, Mexico has been making policy changes related to its customs systems overall, often spun in the press as responses to policies of the US or to the practices of importers receiving goods from China. Those changes are discussed here. Ultimately, they are part of a broader cultural shift in government, one that recognizes the benefits to rule of law and, in turn economic competition, of transparency that is enabled by information and technology.

Background: still emerging from the legacy of a protectionist dictatorship

We discussed earlier this year Mexico’s extant protectionism. Our theory is that it stems from the 70+ years of PRI dictatorship that ended with the election of Vicente Fox of the PAN party, in the year 2000. Despite being the leadership who spearheaded NAFTA, enacted in 1994 and dramatically revolutionizing the Mexican economy, the PRI created and upheld a highly protectionist environment, its reign effectively unchallenged until the 1990s. It often feels like the government has not fully transitioned in culture nor doctrine from its paternalistic approach to writing and enforcing rules.

From a practical level, the law of the land on tariffs, LIGIE, is periodically updated to align with the Harmonized System. Indeed, Mexico’s LIGIE is due for a significant new update following legislation approved this month that in the eyes of many is aimed at enhancing Mexico’s role as a production anchor in the North American trade bloc. However, our experience with customs data for Mexico, recorded over decades, belies the assumption that duties applications have historically been enforced or enforced fairly. Mexican custom officials are on the watch for misclassification–often aggressively so–when it appears designed to avoid duties, but by the same token, records of products admitted into the country are routinely incorrect or incomplete.

This balance of hot and cold in terms of enforcement, combined with the inaccessibility of customs brokers to smaller or infrequent shippers, has lead to an aura of corruption and cuate-ism around Mexican imports processes. Indeed, many consumer brands decline to ship e-commerce to Mexico, precisely because of the lack of clarity around compliance and enforcement. As a result, it is still commonplace for smaller “importers” to have products shipped to Texas and crossed on foot or by car as personal possessions, without commercial declarations, into Mexico. Amazon, in that it has figured out how to bring small items into Mexico smoothly, has been a game-changer for consumers in this respect. Services like Border Free are a distant second but still helpful.

The workaround for B2B regarding customs, who enjoy a bit more support on the policy level from the Mexican government than consumers do, has been contract manufacturing or shelter programs, who can use the IMMEX program. This in itself has been misused in many cases, most notably textiles. In May 2025 news circulated that the bank accounts of eight textile companies were frozen due to habitual misclassification of imports for tax evasion.

IMMEX 4.0 and other changes

Mexico ultimately recognizes very well that inconsistent enforcement leads to unclear rules that undermine competition, and customs is no exception. While the Mexican government has framed recent updates to improve the situation as Morena party initiatives and, when speaking to Donald Trump, bending to the will of the US, in fact systemic changes have been evolving into reality for the last 5 years or so. Below is a list of policies being enacted that should make importing to Mexico less of a crap shoot, albeit with stricter enforcement that also comes at a cost (via more paperwork for importers and exporters).

Strengthened operational control by SAT and ANAM
Customs oversight increased following the full operational separation of ANAM (Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de Mexico) from SAT in 2021. SAT, Mexico’s IRS, aka Hacienda, continues to lead fiscal audits, while ANAM has tightened port-of-entry controls, physical inspections, and verification of origin. Importers report more frequent document reviews, especially for steel, textiles, chemicals, and electronics.
Digitalization and procedural reforms (IMMEX 4.0)
Progress continues on replacing legacy VUCEM components as Mexico modernizes electronic systems for customs filings. The electronic pedimento de importación format has incorporated new data elements for origin, valuation, and transport. Implementation timelines vary across ports, causing temporary inconsistencies in document requirements. Here is a great summary in English of IMMEX 4.0, the name of the initiative under the Sheinbaum administration, from late last year.
Increased use of risk-based inspections
Customs has expanded automated risk filters to trigger red-light inspections based on importer history, tariff chapters, and declared values relative to reference prices. Importers with repeated anomalies are more often moved into enhanced review status, resulting in delays and additional documentation.
Classification and valuation scrutiny
Audits increasingly focus on tariff classification accuracy, declared values, and the treatment of assists and royalties. SAT has issued more post-clearance reviews to verify whether declared transaction values properly include dutiable elements. Sectors with complex assemblies (automotive, electronics, medical devices) have seen expanded requests for technical descriptions and engineering files.
IMMEX regimen tightening
IMMEX companies face closer monitoring of inventory controls and compliance with Annex 24/31 systems. Authorities have increased requirements for reconciling import balances, validating virtual operations (transferencias virtuales), and demonstrating export links for temporarily imported goods. Non-compliant firms have faced suspension of importer permits until discrepancies are corrected.
Increased attention to USMCA origin claims
ANAM and SAT have intensified verification of origin for US and Canadian goods claiming preferential tariff treatment. Requests for supplier affidavits, bills of materials, and RVC calculations have risen. Auto-sector USMCA requirements remain a priority area for enforcement, especially where producers use mixed-origin materials.
Sector-specific enforcement actions
Steel and aluminum imports continue under heightened surveillance through sectoral rules published by the Secretaría de Economía, requiring advance notices, mill certificates, and country-of-origin documentation. Footwear, textiles, apparel, and plastics remain targets for misclassification and undervaluation checks.
New security and port-facility requirements
Ports including Manzanillo, Veracruz, and Lazaro Cardenas have applied stricter container-movement controls and traceability measures due to security-related incidents. This includes expanded scanning, GPS requirements on certain routes, and closer coordination with naval authorities that now manage several customs sites.
Ongoing antidumping reviews and duties
Several antidumping investigations have been initiated or extended this year, especially in steel products, textiles, certain chemicals, and consumer goods. Companies importing affected products face renewed normal-value requirements and expanded document requests during clearance.
Broker accountability and permit renewals
Customs brokers are subject to narrower tolerances for procedural errors. Renewal of customs licenses and importer registries (Padron de Importadores and sector-specific pads) increasingly requires documented internal controls, Mexican taxpayer compliance, and evidence of operational traceability.

All in all, Mexico is overhauling its customs enforcement doctrine to be more precision-oriented, but we think also more fair. It will be good for the consumer and B2B markets alike in the long-run.

[December 11, 2025 Update:

Tariffs of up to 50 percent, affecting products from non-FTA countries on 1400+ HS codes, were approved on December 10 by both of Mexico’s legislative chambers. This follows an initiative introduced by the Secretaría de Economia and announced by Sheinbaum in September and has implications for the regional industrial alignment Mexico is hoping to reinforce in next year’s formal review of the USMCA. Countries affected include China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, and Brazil.

While the official list has yet to be published in the Diaro Oficial de la Federación, the business magazine Expansión summarized the products affected, translated below. The largest blocks include significant volumes of inputs that feed Mexican manufacturing, while categories like appliances or footwear correspond to completed imported goods.

Textiles – 398 tariff lines
Clothing – 308
Steel products – 248
Auto parts – 141
Plastics – 79
Footwear – 49
Paper and cardboard – 47
Toys – 37
Furniture – 28
Glass – 25
Soaps, perfumes, cosmetics – 24
Aluminum – 21
Household appliances – 18
Leather goods – 18
Motorcycles – 8
Light vehicles – 13
Trailers – 1

Worth noting is the number of abstentions in both legislative chambers from these votes. Roughly 25 percent of congress members and senators voted neither for nor against the tariffs, citing hasty passage of the bill and observers citing likely interests in the affected countries.]

El cargo Tariff Strategies for Mexico apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.

Mexico’s Intelligent Supply Chains

neighborsmx2 — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 01:07:40 +0000

We recently performed a meta-analysis of AI use cases in Mexico’s manufacturing and logistics industries. As is the case globally, mature AI adoption is spreading faster in sectors like finance, e-commerce and entertainment media compared to in the supply chain industries. However, in Mexico’s case, there is a confluence of factors that highlight manufacturing and logistics as particularly fertile ground for industrial transformation.

As everywhere, Mexico’s manufacturing and logistics companies are heavy on highly-customized capital assets. These industries are inherently slower to adopt transformative technologies like artificial intelligence because they are reliant on OT– operational technology– even moreso than they are on pure-play IT, software, which is comparatively easy to edit and update, and on networked communications technologies, which are commodities when compared to manufacturing assembly lines and vehicles and warehousing equipment.

Indeed, if it is slower and more expensive to update the supply chain industries, there is also relatively more risk riding on the updates. Supply chains by nature require interoperability of technologies used by several distinct players. In Mexico’s case, further complexities are at play:

highway security and other logistics continuity factors
greater need to ensure water and electrical supply/resilience
the multinational nature of the supply and distribution networks– the inputs, outputs, and their transit and financing are governable by multiple legal jurisdictions

The company Advanced Logistics Solutions in a recent blog post describes in detail 2025 as a period of accelerated U.S.-Mexico supply-chain integration driven by nearshoring, with opportunities centered on cost optimization, shorter transit times, and improved cross-border responsiveness. They highlight gains from digitalized logistics, automation of customs processes by both the US and Mexico, and expanding regional workforce capacity supporting advanced manufacturing and real-time supply-chain visibility. From our view at the NC office in Mexico, we see ongoing trade and security negotiations between Mexico and the US as ultimately a dance that will result in more consolidated bilateral, precision control of supply chain tracking and other data.

What does this mean in terms of advanced operational technology implementation? The rest of this blog post highlights 5 of the AI use cases we looked at in Mexico manufacturing and logistics. The goal is to provide some signposts in terms of technology systems that other adopters in Mexico will be looking to. The 5 companies are major players not just in Mexico but regionally and globally, including in the US. Their progress establishes performance baselines for Tier 1, Tier 2 and partnering and competing supplier in Mexico’s, which is also North America’s, supply chain ecosystem.

Cemex – global cement company
Cemex uses AI for predictive maintenance, kiln process optimization, energy-efficiency analytics, and digital-twin simulations across cement production lines. These systems operate in major plants in Monterrey, Hidalgo, and Puebla, with continuous data collection from thousands of sensors and multi-site integration of remote monitoring via the MARIA platform. Technology partners include Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, IoT Edge, EPAM NEORIS, and internal R&D teams. For further reading: CEMEX, “Improving Cement Production Through Artificial Intelligence.” (2021)

Grupo Bimbo – global baked goods company
Grupo Bimbo applies AI for demand forecasting, dynamic route optimization, shelf analytics using computer vision, equipment maintenance prediction, and digital-twin modeling of distribution centers. Its deployment spans nationwide production and distribution networks, with over 200 automated processes and more than 1,000 trained citizen developers supported through its analytics hubs in Mexico City and Monterrey. Technology partners include the integrator Nubity, AWS Bedrock, SageMaker, Microsoft Power Platform, Oracle Fusion Cloud, SAP S/4HANA, IBP, Blue Yonder, and Manhattan TMS/WMS. For further reading in English, from Oracle, “Grupo Bimbo kneads Oracle Fusion Cloud apps into its growth strategy” (2025)

Nemak – global metals manufacturing
Nemak integrates machine learning into its casting and machining operations to optimize parameters, reduce defects, schedule predictive maintenance, and simulate processes with digital twins. These capabilities are active across 15 plants, supported by a global rollout from its Monterrey R&D center and a 400-person citizen-developer program. Technology partners include Microsoft Azure IoT and ML, Siemens, Dassault Systèmes DELMIA, Emilabs, Nemak NORIS, Your IT Consulting, iAlestra-NXT, and Tec de Monterrey. See this video in English hosted by Nemak on their NORIS platform (2025).

Volkswagen de México – global automotive manufacturing
Volkswagen de México employs AI in predictive maintenance, production analytics, robot-driven assembly, and real-time quality inspection via cobot systems. Its Puebla and Silao plants are integrated into the global Volkswagen Industrial Cloud, managing over 200 robots and 20 PLCs under VASS standards and supporting vehicle production volumes exceeding 400,000 units per year. Technology partners include AWS, Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing, Dassault Systèmes, Dominion Global, and Diro Automation. See Dominion Global, the integrator’s, case study for VW Mexico’s automated welding described in English.

FEMSA / Solistica (Traxión Group) – world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler and affiliated LATAM-wide distribution operations
Solistica uses AI to optimize transport planning, forecast delivery disruptions, detect operational threats, and simulate logistics flows in multimodal freight networks. The system covers 6,200 vehicles, 25,000 employees, and more than 9,000 connected devices across Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, with centralized control-tower oversight in Mexico City and Monterrey. Technology partners include Oracle Transportation Management, Microsoft Sentinel and Defender, Bendix ADAS sensors, internal Distribución Digital 1.0 platform, SAP S/4HANA (ERP integration), Databricks, Solistica, Servinformación, FEMSA Digital, and Traxión Group.

Estafeta – national logistics carrier and forwarder
Estafeta has developed an AI-driven digital twin of its parcel-distribution network to improve fleet utilization, hub planning, and investment decisions. The system integrates predictive-demand forecasting, dynamic route optimization, anomaly detection, and real-time visibility dashboards across more than 130 logistics facilities nationwide. The model uses agent-based and discrete-event simulation to balance mode, cost, and service-level priorities for both air and ground operations. Technology partners include AnyLogic, Microsoft Azure, and Estafeta’s internal analytics and operations teams. For an English case study, see Anylogic, “Developing a Logistics Digital Twin for a Parcel Distribution Network in Mexico.” (2022)

El cargo Mexico’s Intelligent Supply Chains apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.

Selling into Mexico’s Hospitality and Tourism Industries

neighborsmx2 — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 23:09:28 +0000

North Carolina Suppliers and Mexico’s Hospitality Market

North Carolina companies in furniture, textiles, interior design, construction finishes, natural resource management, outdoor recreation, wellness, and food and beverage production can target Mexico’s growing hospitality clusters. The Yucatan Peninsula, located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, is a leading region for tourism investment. It includes the Riviera Maya (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Chetumal), Merida, extensive Mayan archeological sites, and the cenotes formed by the Chicxulub asteroid impact.

Hotel and resort construction is expanding across Quintana Roo and Yucatan, driven in part by national infrastructure projects such as the Tren Maya and the new Tulum Airport. The region attracts sustained investment in eco-tourism, adventure resorts, and activity-based travel that emphasizes kayaking, diving, hiking, cycling, and wellness retreats. Market demand increasingly favors higher-value, personalized, sustainable, and experience-driven tourism models, creating openings for specialized suppliers.

Sales access often runs through architects, landscape designers, or directly through resort groups developing new outdoor programs for high-value tourism segments. North Carolina companies offering design and construction services can benefit by forming partnerships with developers and hospitality groups engaged in resort buildouts, renovations, and boutique hotel expansion. Food and beverage exporters should work with Mexican importers or distributors that already serve hotels, bars, nightclubs, and mid-size restaurants. Firms that present bundled services, ready-to-install components, or branded add-ons are typically better positioned to meet buyer timelines and procurement expectations.

Companies interested in Mexico hospitality industries will be more successful if they develop a track record first in Florida, Nevada or California. Larger Mexican tourism and entertainment developers are present in those US markets, and to clear cost hurdles presented by market conditions and competitors in Mexico, an exporter will need to think about “going big.”

Strengths that North Carolina exporters enjoy include high manufacturing standards, favorable US origin and sophisticated branding, strong customer service, and expertise in wellness, sustainability, and premium segments. Weaknesses include limited local presence, lack of familiarity with Spanish labeling and Mexican technical norms, and the preference of developers to highlight Mexican products for tourists. Slower payment cycles also represent a recurring risk. Opportunities are most visible in procurement for boutique and lifestyle properties, while threats range from tariff exposure to peso volatility.

Image: “Tuluminati Couple” from What is a Tuluminati? 8 Signs You Might be One, by Brent Armstrong, on Tulumbible.com

Market Entry and Partnerships

To reach hotel developers and restaurant buyers, companies should begin with targeted project mapping, tracking active developments and identifying purchasing contacts through Mexican hospitality associations, local design studios, and tourism and hospitality trade shows. Shows in the US like Hotel and Resort Design South, World of Travel, SurfExpo, the Independent Hotel Show, the Concession and Hospitality Expo, and IAAPA Expo can reach Mexican planners and US planners for Mexico projects. Mexico shows of interest include ANTAD (food, beverage and consumer products), Obra Blanca (architectural finishings and interiors), Exphotel, and real estate summits running in and through Mexico.

Building long-term relationships is non-negotiable, and value can drive the formation of solid relationships even absent social other other affinities. Initial outreach to customers and partners should be formal, bilingual, and focused on specific project relevance, including logistics and after-sales service. A North Carolina firm will benefit from entering through a local partner, developer network, or regional distributor that understands both the buyer culture and the procurement process.

For getting physical products to the Yucatan, the shipping line Linea Peninsular may be the exporter’s best bet for cargo, with routes from Florida to the Port of Progreso, near Merida. If moving a pure overland route (trucking), exporters are advised to also consider Mexico City as an important market along the way.

While the Yucatan Peninsula is usually the most logical starting point for southeastern companies interested in Mexico tourism customers, Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende also have great design sensibilities. They are “lifestyle” destinations in their own right, as well as Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit, and Oaxaca.

El cargo Selling into Mexico’s Hospitality and Tourism Industries apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.

Mexico ramping up local medical production, shortages continue

neighborsmx2 — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:27:00 +0000

The Mexican Government is shoring up its public healthcare service, as part of a near decade-long effort to get operations and costs to sustainable levels as supported by public and social security funding. One particular initiative is to reduce shortages and high import costs via reinvigorating local drug production.

New initiatives have been announced to encourage domestic as well as international investment in Mexico by pharmaceutical and medical device companies, particularly from India, the United States, Europe, South America and Brazil. North Carolina companies may be able to contribute inputs, supplies, services and infrastructure to local growth in medical production.

Plan Mexico Tax Regime
(2025–2030) Immediate depreciation (41–91% in 2025–26; 35–89% in 2027–30); 25% additional deduction for training/innovation; 100% income-tax credit for 3 years; full VAT credit on intercompany transfers.

Decree to Boost
Pharmaceutical Investment
(June 2025)
Extra bid points in public procurement for firms with installed infrastructure or local R&D; multi-ministerial committee negotiates investment; MXN 150 billion (~USD 7.8B) procurement tied to reinvestment.

Logistics & Industrial Zone
Incentive: Interoceanic
Corridor (PODEBIS)
100% income-tax exemption for 3 years, 50–90% relief thereafter if job targets met; 4 years VAT exemption; Profharmax investment within corridor (USD 1.8B regional commitment).

IMMEX/Maquiladora and
PROSEC Duty-Deferral
Programs
Duty-free import of materials and equipment for export manufacturing under IMMEX; PROSEC reduces duties on imported pharma inputs for domestic and export markets.

R&D Tax Credits via
CONACYT
30% credit on R&D expenses exceeding 3-year average; MXN 50M annual cap per taxpayer; MXN 1.5B total annual program cap.

Recent investment announcements include over 500 million USD by Mexican companies Laboratorios Kener, Genbio, Alpharma BioGenTec, and Neolsym. This is in addition to international companies Sanofi, Reddy’s, Zydus Cadila, Glenmark, Torrent, and Hetero. Companies are building and expanding infrastructure for the production of biopharmaceuticals, biotech medications, vaccines, raw materials, and medical supplies, including the first plasma fractionation plant in Latin America.

In addition to stimulating investment, Mexico is seeking to streamline imports. In the past,
medicines and devices being imported into Mexico have taken up to 2 years to be approved for importation by COFEPRIS (Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios), Mexico’s regulatory agency for health-related products, similar to the FDA in the US. Over the past 3 years, the agency has undertaken reforms aimed at improving transparency, reducing approval times, and fostering pharmaceutical innovation and domestic production. Between 2023 and 2024, COFEPRIS implemented an accelerated review process for essential medicines, biosimilars, and high-priority therapeutics, particularly those targeting chronic diseases and affected by shortages. The measures have benefited both foreign and Mexican pharmaceutical companies by facilitating the granting of manufacturing and marketing licenses.

In 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, a shortage of medications has continued to affect key treatments. Since several NC companies can support in drug distribution, some of the tough-to-source medicines are listed below.

• Diabetes:
Glibenclamide, NPH insulin, insulin lispro, liraglutide, dapagliflozin, desmopressin
• Hypertension / Cardiovascular:
Enalapril, losartan, amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, atorvastatin, ezetimibe, rivaroxaban
• Oncological diseases:
Methotrexate, actinomycin, cytarabine, ifosfamide, risedronic acid, etoposide,
cyclophosphamide, vincristine, mercaptopurine, polymeric enteral nutrition formula
• Neurological / Epilepsy / Pain:
Levetiracetam, pregabalin (Lyrica), gabapentin, paracetamol, celecoxib, carbamazepine
• Mental health / Psychiatry:
Alprazolam, duloxetine, amitriptyline, olanzapine, clozapine, methylphenidate, lithium
carbonate
• Immunosuppressants / Transplant:
Tacrolimus, sirolimus, mycophenolate mofetil
• Endocrinology:
Cabergoline, fluticasone, vitamin D3
• Infectious diseases / Antibiotics:
Ceftriaxone, penicillin G benzathine
• Gastrointestinal / Nutrition:
Calcium effervescent
• Obstetric / Reproductive health:
Carbetocin, oral contraceptives
• Palliative care / Analgesia:
Morphine

El cargo Mexico ramping up local medical production, shortages continue apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.

Selling Into Mexico’s Franchise Ecosystem

neighborsmx2 — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 00:34:47 +0000

For US exporters in food and beverage, or those supplying highly fragmented sectors– think tattoo parlors, salons, spas, gyms, learning systems, etc.– Mexico’s franchise sector can offer a more structured path to market. Franchising has taken solid root in Mexico’s consumer economy, with more than 90,000 franchise units nationwide. The model appeals to entrepreneurs seeking operational structure and brand recognition, while also aligning with a growing middle class that expects consistency in service and experience. For suppliers, it presents a national ecosystem of buyers operating under shared standards, procedures, and procurement channels.

Who Are the Buyers?

Mexico’s franchisees typically fall into one of three profiles:

First-time entrepreneurs, often backed by family capital
Professionals supplementing income while maintaining another job or business
Multi-unit investors treating franchising as a long-term portfolio strategy

In terms of who is paying, public programs like NAFIN and FIRA have made franchise investment more accessible by offering targeted credit. Commercial banks may also extend preferential lending when loans are tied to established brands with a proven track record. Some franchisors, meanwhile, offer their franchisees vendor credit, equipment leasing, or internal financing to reduce barriers to entry.

Franchise ownership in some ways substitutes for SME support structures such as insurance, financing, and training, which are common in the US but less developed in the Mexico market. As a result, franchise systems that offer operational certainty and brand support are especially attractive to investors, and they can make good customers for US exporters.

Where Is the Demand?

Franchise growth is concentrated in consumer-facing sectors. Some of the more active categories include:

Sector	Representative Brands
Food & Beverage	Starbucks, Italianni’s, Subway, Wingstop
Beauty & Wellness	GNC, Color Me, Nails&Co, Desertika
Education & Training	Kumon, Quick Learning, Harmon Hall
Laundry & Services	Mr. Jeff, Prendamex, Lava+
Fitness & Health	SmartFit, Anytime Fitness, Curves

The Asociación Mexicana de Franquicias lists over 200 active brands in its directory. All place a premium on brand compliance, predictable pricing, and vendor accountability, areas where experienced US exporters can offer value and enjoy reciprocal enhanced standards and stability from buyers.

How Franchisors Manage Purchasing

Franchisors generally maintain tight control over franchisee purchasing decisions. While franchisees oversee day-to-day operations, key inputs such as food ingredients, uniforms, or branded packaging are often sourced from approved vendors or through a franchisor-managed supply chain. This centralized structure creates clarity, but it also raises the bar for supplier entry.

Common procurement models include:

Approved Supplier Lists
Franchisees must source core goods from a pre-vetted list, often under pricing or rebate terms that benefit the franchisor.
Centralized Distribution
Some brands operate warehouses or logistics hubs. Franchisees order directly from these, which enables control over inventory, pricing, and compliance.
Proprietary Inputs and Equipment
Franchisors may restrict the use of certain machines or ingredients to those provided directly or through designated partners. This is common in food and beverage systems.
System-Level Influence
Even when local discretion exists, franchisors use tools like POS prompts, preferred pricing, and inventory templates to guide supplier choice.

Challenges and How to Break In

Because purchasing decisions are centralized, exporters must gain brand-level approval in order to access the network. That often means aligning with strict product specifications and operational requirements from the outset. A high-quality product that does not match the brand’s framework may never be considered. Exporters must also navigate both external and internal compliance requirements, and the brand’s standards can be more demanding than international compliance standards.

This was the case with a franchisee we recently spoke with, who are seeking to comply with rigorous animal welfare certifications required by a new brand they are operating for Mexico. You can see their meat sourcing requirements in the inset below (and if you happen to know anyone who meets the standards, please let us know so we can introduce them).

Many franchises work through exclusive or semi-exclusive supplier contracts, and onboarding may require audits, product trials, or structured evaluations. For logistics, franchisors expect consistency in delivery, pricing, and system integration. Existing rebate models or long-standing agreements with incumbent suppliers can further narrow entry points.

Exporters not yet positioned to meet these standards may still find a path through local partners. Options include working with an already-approved distributor, offering a private-label product that meets franchisor criteria, or focusing on smaller, high-growth franchises that are more flexible. While franchisor procurement structures pose barriers, the flipside is that they also reward reliable vendors with stability, visibility, and scale in an otherwise sometimes volatile market.

Meat Sourcing Standards a Major Franchisee is Being Held To

No Antibiotics: Animals must never receive antibiotics from birth. If treatment is needed, animals are removed from the supply chain.

No Hormones or Growth Promotants: Hormones and beta-agonists are prohibited from birth in all beef and pork.

Vegetarian Feed Only: Animals must be fed a vegetarian diet from birth; no animal byproducts are allowed.

Animal Welfare and Housing: Producers must follow BQA or higher welfare programs, with annual audits by the franchisor or third parties. Pork requires bedding and strongly encourages outdoor access. Farrowing and gestation crates are not allowed for pork.

Traceability: Full traceability is required from birth to box for beef, verified through affidavits or third-party programs. Sale barn cattle are only allowed if traceability criteria are met.

Residue Testing: All suppliers participate in the franchisor’s residue testing program, which enforces stricter tolerance levels than government standards.

Age and Weight Restrictions: Beef must be under 30 months (grain-fed) or 42 months (grass-fed). Chicken has a maximum live weight (7–8 lbs) and lower stocking density.

Animal Enrichment: Bedding and enrichments are required for pork and chicken.

Transport and Slaughter: Pork can only be transported for up to 14 consecutive hours. NAMI animal welfare standards must be followed at slaughter.

El cargo Selling Into Mexico’s Franchise Ecosystem apareció primero en North Carolina in Mexico.