Mexico
Economic and trade overview
Key figures
Economy 2011 Trade 2011 (USD billion)
GDP (USD) 1,155 bn Goods Exports 350
GDP per capita (USD) 10,064 Imports 351
GDP volume growth (year-on-year) + 3.9% Net – 1
Population 114.79m Services Exports 15
MMR (year average) 4.82% Imports 29
Exchange rate MXN / USD (year average) 12.423 Net – 14
BoP (goods, services & income) as % of GDP – 2.9% Source: IFS, IMF, January 2013International/Regional memberships
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA): since 1 January 1994.
International Monetary Fund (IMF):
since 31 December 1945.
World Trade Organization (WTO):
since 1 January 1995.
Government trade policy
Mexico pursues a policy of free trade and
seeks trade agreements either bilaterally or
through NAFTA.
As a member of NAFTA
(www.naftanow.org), Mexico benefits from
free trade arrangements with Canada
and the USA. Under NAFTA, duties on
thousands of goods have been removed and
most tariffs have been eliminated among
the three countries. A trade agreement
on agriculture was negotiated separately
between Mexico and Canada, and Canada
and the USA.
Mexico also has in place bilateral and regional
free trade agreements with several countries
and trading blocs, mainly in Latin America
and Europe, with more than 90 percent of its
export trade carried out under a free trade
agreement (www.economia.gob.mx).
National export credit insurance provider:
Compañía Española de Seguro de Crédito a
la Exportación Mexico (CESCE México —
http://www.cescemex.com.mx).
Banco Nacional de Comercial Exterior
(Bancomext — http://www.bancomext.com)
operates Mexico’s state-supported export
credit programme.
Mexico effectively operates a free trade zone
on the USA–Mexico land border, where
maquiladoras (or maquilas), which are
typically foreign-owned factories, can import
materials and equipment on a duty-free and
tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing
and then re-export the manufactured goods,
usually back to the originating country.Currency and exchange controls
Official currency: Mexican peso (MXN).
Exchange rate arrangement: free floating.
Mexico does not impose foreign exchange
controls.
Individuals importing or exporting over
the equivalent of USD 10,000 in cash/
cheques are required to notify the customs
authorities.
Bank accounts
Resident companies cannot hold local
currency (MXN) bank accounts outside
Mexico.
Resident companies can hold foreign
currency bank accounts within and outside
Mexico. However, foreign exchange deposits
may only be held by companies that are
resident and/or established in Mexico, or by