Blacklisted Banks and Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Still Want to Invest in Mexico?

Mexico is a critically important trading partner with the U.S.  Together with China and Canada, the three account for 36.5% of all U.S. imports and 32.1% of all U.S. exports amounting to over $1 trillion of trade each year. And yet, Mexico is always a challenging country in which to do business. The gap became the wealthiest and the poorest is enormous.  Violent crime and gun violence is extremely prevalent. Government and police corruption is widespread, and Mexico is amongst the largest global producers of cocaine, heroin and Fentanyl.  In addition to being a narcotics source country, because it borders the U.S., it is a major narcotics transshipment country.  And all of the money generated by narcotics trafficking has to be laundered.  In fact, Mexican money launderers are amongst the world’s most innovative who make use of a combination of trade-based money laundering, traditional money laundering through cash intensive businesses, bulk smuggling of U.S. currency, the black market peso exchange and other proven and widely used techniques.

On a more positive note, Mexico is also a huge trading and manufacturing partner for a wide range of goods including automobiles and car parts, clothing, housewares, precious metals, oil and gas and a huge volume of agricultural products. Mexico is fraught with risk, tensions between Mexico and the U.S. are at an all time high. And yet, our two economies and national security are inextricably linked.  So how do U.S. companies with significant operations in Mexico continue to operate there?  And what should companies who are considering investing in the Mexican market do to mitigate all of this uncertainty?