Interview With CanCham Mexico’s President

Canada on Its Way to Becoming Mexico's Second Most Important Trading Partner.

 

Enrique Zorrilla Fullaondo has over forty years of experience in Mexican banking. He has a bachelor's degree from UNAM, another title from from Universidad Iberoamericana and postgraduate studies at Northwestern University. Today, with a clear mission from his position as national president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, he declared that, after the "Tenth North American Leaders Summit", the challenges in terms of labor mobility and education are key to continue consolidating the relationship between Mexico and Canada”.

During a pleasant interview conducted by Zoom with Allison Jorge, Regional Manager of CanCham in Bajío, Enrique Zorrilla outlined a comprehensive perspective on the evolution of the bilateral works of Mexico and Canada, presented a Canadian investment outlook, the factors that currently strengthen their links and the near future that will position Canada as the second most important investor in Mexico.

Within the framework of CanCham's 40th anniversary, he was asked how the trade relationship between Mexico and Canada has evolved, to which he replied:

"Basically, there has been a favorable evolution since the creation of the Cancham. We have benefit from investments from emblematic corporations, such as Bombardier, a first level player installed in the state of Queretaro, which practically initiated the aeronautical sector, supporting the activities of the Universidad Aeronáutica de Queretaro (UNAQ). During a mutually beneficial meeting with business people, after the Tenth Summit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed the importance of the new stage in which Canadian economic development has positioned itself in Mexico. Proof of this is the even competition between Mexico and Spain, which places Canada as a second larger international investor in Mexico".

Enrique Zorrilla thinks that one of the many projects that will surely consolidate Canada as Mexico's second largest trading partner is the 4.5 billion dollar Gateway to the Southeast, South Texas-Tuxpan System, a natural submarine gas pipeline 715 kilometers long, with a capacity of 1,300 million cubic feet per day, which starts in Tuxpan, Veracruz and continues through the ocean before hitting the city of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and Dos Bocas, Tabasco, in order to provide energy to the southern area of the country.

This system is jointly developed by the Canadian pipeline operator TC Energía and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). So far, the firm's overall investment in gas pipelines installed in Mexico amounts to five billion dollars.

After the "Tenth North American Leaders Summit", a question that could not be missed was what challenges the Canadian Chamber of Commerce faces in Mexico, to which Enrique Zorrilla responded:

"Thanks to NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) or Free Trade Agreement by its Spanish translation and T-MEC (Trade Agreement between Mexico, United States and Canada), relations between Canada and Mexico have been strengthened, so the business sector must work jointly to keep supporting the bilateral relationship between Mexico and Canada. It should be noted that in the last decade there has been a considerable increase in Canadian investment. However, today the number of links is greater, and they are not only focused on economic issues, but also cover topics, such as immigration, labor mobility, environmental commitment with the neutralization of the carbon footprint, post-pandemic challenges and nearshoring (investment in nearby geography). Canada has a deep-rooted economy in several fields, including forestry resources, clean energy and mining, in which Canada stands out worldwide".

"Strictly speaking, the business people members of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico face a series of challenges that we must consolidate in the coming terms, because during the meeting we held with the Prime Minister, he showed keen interest in giving greater momentum to labor and educational mobility, given that Canada requires Mexican talent in areas such as engineering, medicine, law, physics and agriculture, among others".

Enrique Zorrilla assured that, through the eleven committees of CanCham and its three chapters (Mexico City, Bajío and Occidente), they will focus on the rapprochement between Canadian businessmen and the education sector to promote dual education programs that favor Mexican talent in terms of experience abroad, as well as Canadian companies that require talent. This integration will allow the design of key programs for labor and student mobility. He emphasized that there are countless challenges to be met, which will be worked on in a transversal manner for their adequate fulfillment, among them the purpose of increasing investment in the Mexican Southeast, as it is a potential sector for economic and social growth.

To conclude the interview, we wanted to know which of the 32 states of our country, Mexico, has the greatest impact of Canadian investment.

"I estimate that there are approximately four thousand Canadian businessmen installed in Mexican lands, from micro-entrepreneurs to firms that have more than a thousand collaborators. Among some of the business brands with large investments in Mexico are: Scotiabank, from Halifax, Bombardier, AirCanada, TC Energy, some mining industries and the last and not less important, which is defining the commercial relationship between Mexico and Canada, is the automotive sector. Canada is a strong ally of Mexico in this area. I would like to highlight some of the states that mark the trade, among them is Zacatecas, with 36 percent of Canadian investment in the mining sector; 95 percent of the broccoli consumed in Canada is grown in Guanajuato; Querétaro with the aerospace sector, as well as Sinaloa, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Guerrero, Mexico City, Chihuahua, just to mention those with the greatest Canadian investment".

Enrique Zorrilla assures that the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico has become a dependable community of business people that works to transfer the mission, vision, values and goas of the trade agreements between the three countries that are currently headed by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden; the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.