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Experienced Forwarder moves into the Mexican Market

leman

Experienced Forwarder moves into the Mexican Market

The very experienced global transport and logistics company LEMAN, founded in Denmark 123 years ago, is now opening in Mexico. The company states that it is primarily to meet a development in the market and to strengthen LEMAN’s opportunities to service customers in North and South America.

When the doors open to LEMAN Mexico on Monday, August 28th, it will be the company’s 37th international office. The office is located in Querétaro.

A large economy with even greater potential

LEMAN states that the extension to Mexico is logical because of the development that Mexico is going through these years:

“Mexico is a hugely interesting country for us as freight forwarders for several reasons. With 130 million inhabitants and therefore consumers, Mexico is a thriving economy and therefore a growing and more important market, and in addition it will strengthen our business in the US, as there are many synergies between the two large countries,” Carlos Alatorre Bautista, CEO, LEMAN Mexico explains.

The new CEO further states that there is great potential, especially due to nearshoring caused by the geopolitical situation and the disruption in the supply chain that has set in recent years. Part of the production of goods is thus expected to move from Asia to e.g. Mexico.

“Mexico is the 11th largest economy in the world, with significant foreign trade and significant growth potential, especially for cross-border trade to and from the US, and Mexico’s foreign trade will benefit from the global trend towards nearshoring,” emphasizes Carlos Alatorre Bautista.

LEMAN covers the world

To manage LEMAN’s activities, LEMAN has hired Carlos Alatorre Bautista, a very experienced country manager with broad experience from the industry. He highlights LEMAN’s broad experience and presence as important strengths in the Mexican market:

“Whether your company imports goods from China, exports goods to Europe, engages in cross-border trade with the US or something else entirely, we are experts because we have done it before with success. As one of our main markets, we have had our own offices in the United States for more than 50 years, and in addition we cover the rest of the world either with our own offices or through agents,” says Carlos Alatorre Bautista and concludes:

“We are strongly represented with offices in many countries in both Europe and Asia, and these solid networks give us an immediate advantage in the Mexican market.”

In the spring, LEMAN presented its best annual result ever and has since announced that the strategy is to invest the profit in even better representation in the core markets of Europe, North America, and Asia.

 

ITC Report on NAFTA Revision Doesn’t Impress Democrats

President Trump got a gift from the U.S. International Trade Commission Thursday – a mostly positive assessment of the probable economic effects of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, formerly NAFTA.

That won’t appease congressional democrats, though. They’re concerned about the extent to which the USMCA’s rules on labor and environmental protection would be enforced. And there’s not much in the agreement to assuage them.

“USMCA would likely have a positive impact on U.S. trade, both with USMCA partners and with the rest of the world,” the ITC said in a 379-page report.

“[T]he agreement would likely have a positive impact on all broad industry sectors within the U.S. economy. Manufacturing would experience the largest percentage gains in output, exports, wages, and employment, while in absolute terms, services would experience the largest gains in output and employment,” the report said.

It predicts nominal gains in employment and GDP, which is the most that one can expect from any trade agreement.

While not explicitly saying so, the report strongly suggests that the agreement’s benefits will only be realized if its rules are enforced.

“If fully implemented and enforced, USMCA would have a positive impact on U.S. real GDP and employment,” the report said.

Caveats like that appear throughout the report:

– “The agreement, if enforced, would strengthen labor standards and rights.”

– “The Commission assesses that full implementation and enforcement of the IPR (intellectual property rights) chapter’s provisions would benefit U.S. industries that rely on IPR protections.”

– “Overall, labor organizations and other observers express the view that USMCA labor obligations will have no impact on wages or labor conditions if member countries fail to enforce these provisions. Despite the agreement’s new and strengthened labor provisions, some groups criticize the agreement’s lack of measures guaranteeing the enforcement or monitoring of its labor obligations.”

– USMCA holds that “parties must enforce their environmental laws, while also retaining the right to exercise discretion with respect to enforcement of those laws.”

Now there’s a loophole you could drive an 18-wheeler through; sure, we’ll enforce our environmental laws, subject to our discretion. It’s glaringly obvious how much enthusiasm the Trump administration has for enforcing environmental laws and regulations – none whatsoever. Dozens of environmental regulations imposed during the Obama administration have been put off or repealed – all for the benefit of business and industry.

And business and industry liked what they saw.

“This comprehensive analysis shows that all broad industry sectors across the U.S. economy will benefit from USMCA,” the Business Roundtable said in a statement.

“[M]embers of Congress reviewing the ITC report and considering their vote on USMCA should look at the big picture. Liberalized trade with Canada and Mexico has been tremendously important to the U.S. economy,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said before the report was released. “A vote for USMCA is a vote to continue these far-reaching benefits. To recap, U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico.”

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said, “This report confirms what has been clear since this deal was announced – Donald Trump’s (USMCA) represents at best a minor update to NAFTA, which will offer only limited benefits to U.S. workers. As I’ve said for months, the administration shouldn’t squander the opportunity to lock in real, enforceable labor standards in Mexico and fix the enforcement problems that have plagued NAFTA.”

The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over U.S. trade policy, as does the House Ways and Means Committee. It’s chairman, Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., said it was “notable that the Commission consistently highlights the inclusion of enforcement provisions as the key factor in determining whether labor standards and rights will actually be strengthened in Mexico.”

“Before the release of the ITC report, I believed that the renegotiated NAFTA, as written, needed to be improved before House consideration. Nothing in this report alleviates those concerns,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, , D-Ore., chairman of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee. The House requires stronger provisions on labor, the environment, access to medicine and enforcement.”

NAFTA has no chapters on labor rights or environmental protection. They are addressed in side agreements that are only marginally enforceable. USMCA negotiators agreed to move those side agreements into the body of the agreement and to make them fully enforceable. But there’s a big difference between “enforceable” and “enforced.” Enforcement costs money, and in some cases it’s difficult to do.

For example, USMCA stipulates that at least 40% of a car built in Mexico be built by workers earning at least $16 per hour. Good luck enforcing that.

In order to add enforcement language to USMCA that will satisfy congressional democrats, U.S., Canadian and Mexican negotiators would have to reopen the negotiations and spend weeks or even months hashing it out. That’s not going to happen.

What will happen is that Trump, now in re-election mode, will claim that he transformed what he once called “the worst trade deal in the history of the world,” into what now says is “the largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history.”

Hyperbole aside, Congress still has to approve USMCA and that is far from a foregone conclusion.

John Brinkley was speechwriter for U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and for Korean Ambasador Han Duk-soo during the Korean government’s quest for ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement.

This article originally appeared in Forbes.