Futbol Mania sees the trade barriers and environment to be very conductive to our organizatoinal goals. We are providing the following information in order to educate our managers, customers, and stakeholders as to the trade/investment environment of Mexico.

Importance of Trade to the Nation
GDP was only a mere .9% in 2002 and trade as % of GDP is 27.3% (Correll, 2003)

Main Exports and Volumes/Main Imports and Volumes
Exports of $158.4 billion in 2002 included manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, and cotton (The World Factbook Mexico, 2003). Imports of $168 billion included metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts. The main trading partners were the US, Canada, Japan, and Germany (The World Factbook Mexico, 2003)

Trade Dependency
With more imports than exports, Mexico relies heavily on trade. The US plays a major role, representing 82.7% of Mexico's exports and 70% of its imports (The World Factbook Mexico, 2003).

National competitive advantage
There are tax savings and overhead savings with land use. There is a skilled workforce. The Government is a big proponent of industrialization. There is a cultural motive to create a better economy for the people. The Government has an interest in maintaining their status as a respected player in the export industry and to have a respected economy. They rate in the top 12 with a labor force of 39.8 million people employees (AllRefer, 2004).

Economic Motives
90% of their trade is free trade, and they utilize NAFTA and WTO trade agreements to ensure economic success. Mexico is phasing out current tariffs and quotas with other trading countries. NAFTA provides for the elimination of Mexican tariffs on 5,900 categories of imports from the United States and Canada (mostly machinery and intermediate goods), representing more than 40 percent of Mexico's overall trade (Correll, 2003).

WTO Membership
Mexico became a member of this organization in 01/01/1995 to facilitate trade.
They also participate in other International organizations such as: APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,and WtrO (The World Factbook Mexico, 2003).
FDI inflows and sources include the USA, Japan, and Canada. FDI outflows and destinations include USA, Japan, Canada, EU, and South America (Foreign Direct Investment -Mexico, 2004).

Basic Appeal
Soccer is the most popular sport in Mexico (Jimenez, 2000). In fact, Mexico was the first country to have ever hosted the FIFA World Cup, on two occasions, in 1970 and again in 1986 (FIFA World Cup Archives, 1986). The World Cup, which was founded in 1920 is held every four year, and is the most prestigious international football event. The popularity of the sport, and the availability of labor make it an ideal product for the market.

Futbol Mania - P.O. Box 3811 - N. Ft. Myers, FL - 33918 - (239)590-0000 www.ciscorob.com/global