The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will identify opportunities for Mexico and the United States in the semiconductor chip sector.
To this end, since last year, the governments of both countries agreed to a partnership with the IDB within the framework of the High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED).
In addition, as part of the economic recovery effort and the HLED commitments, the Ministry of Economy has established a strategic alliance with the National College of Technical Professional Education (CONALEP).
In the area of DEAN workforce development, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and CONALEP, meetings were organized between relevant actors in the semiconductor and manufacturing sectors, and a visiting U.S. scientist, with the objective of developing a new curriculum with a focus on priority sectors such as semiconductors.
Semiconductor opportunities
In September 2021, the DEAN was relaunched, with the goal of promoting regional economic growth, job creation, workforce training, and reducing inequality and poverty.
Since then, bilateral meetings have been held at the technical level based on deliverables and activities agreed upon by the HLED.
Then, in April 2022, officials from Mexico and the United States met to review key achievements of the HLED, address priority initiatives, and plan for the next meeting.
The following activities were highlighted:
- Creation and follow-up to the Bilateral Supply Chain Working Group.
- Virtual trade mission to Mexico for environmental technologies, organized by the United States.
- Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with technology companies to promote workforce development in Mexico.
- Partnership with the IDB to identify opportunities in the semiconductor sector.
- Progress toward collaboration in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.
At the beginning of 2022, the international environment deteriorated due to the tightening of the zero tolerance policy for Covid-19 in China, which led to a slowdown in its ports and a worsening of bottlenecks in supply chains, as it is one of the main producers of manufactured goods, particularly semiconductors, which affected global value chains due to temporary closures of companies and the establishment of new restrictions on mobility in Mexico.
