COMEXI-PCNS webinar series 2024: Nearshoring boom: lessons from Mexico and Morocco

May 30, 2024

Nearshoring in Mexico

Nearshoring in Mexico presents both importance and challenges for businesses. The country's proximity to the United States, its largest trading partner, offers strategic advantages such as reduced transportation costs and shorter lead times, making it an attractive destination for nearshoring operations. Additionally, Mexico boasts a skilled labor force, particularly in industries like automotive, aerospace, and electronics manufacturing, which align well with the needs of many nearshoring companies. Moreover, Mexico benefits from trade agreements like the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), providing preferential access to key markets. However, nearshoring in Mexico also faces challenges, including security concerns in certain regions, bureaucratic hurdles, and regulatory complexities that may impede the ease of doing business. Infrastructure constraints, such as inadequate transportation networks and energy supply, can increase operational costs and pose logistical challenges for companies. Addressing these challenges while leveraging Mexico's strategic advantages is crucial for maximizing the potential of nearshoring in the country.

Nearshoring in Morocco

Nearshoring in Morocco is significant due to its proximity to Europe. This stability, coupled with developed infrastructure and efficient logistics, facilitates seamless operations and reduces investor uncertainties. It offers advantages like reduced transportation costs and access to a skilled workforce, particularly in the engineering and IT sectors. Trade agreements and government investments in infrastructure support nearshoring activities, making Morocco attractive for European companies to optimize their supply chains. The country's political stability, developed infrastructure, and efficient logistics bolster its appeal to investors. Macro factors such as trade openness and stable exchange rates further enhance its attractiveness. Moreover, Morocco boasts solid legal frameworks that prioritize and protect business rights and economic incentives, ensuring a stable and predictable business environment. However, challenges persist, including skill mismatches, technology transfer, and SME upgrading. Addressing these, alongside pressing concerns like achieving carbon neutrality and digitalizing the economy, is essential for Morocco to fully leverage its potential as a competitive nearshoring hub and sustain its appeal to foreign investors.

Importance of the webinar

In this context, the exchange of experiences and lessons learned between Mexico and Morocco is instrumental in bolstering their nearshoring opportunities and overcoming challenges in this domain. By sharing insights into their respective nearshoring endeavors, both countries can leverage each other's strengths and address common obstacles more effectively. Through collaboration and knowledge sharing, COMEXI and PCNS can contribute to identifying innovative solutions, actionable strategies, and the maximal capitalization of trends in the global nearshoring landscape. This exchange can also result in ideas that foster mutual growth and competitiveness in the nearshoring sector, that help drive economic development and create new opportunities for both nations.

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    December 11, 2019
    The Atlantic Current’s 6th edition provides overview, fresh insights, latest data, and broader analysis on the Atlantic space’s current challenges, as well as their implications for the South. Different chapters explore emerging trends and critical issues, such as the World Trade Organization reform, Brexit and the future of EU, the expansion of militancy in the Sahel and Coastal Africa, the role of cultural diplomacy and the deepening of Sino-African relations within a shifting an ...
  • December 10, 2019
    Carole Mathieu, chercheure au Centre Énergie de l’Ifri, analyse les enjeux de la COP25 et les contraintes des approches adoptées dans les mobilisations internationales en faveur du climat ...
  • December 9, 2019
    The 8th edition of the Atlantic Dialogues conference is on its way ! From 12 to 14 December 2019, Marrakesh will host leaders from the Atlantic Bassin to connect, debate and inspire on building new mental maps around the Southern Atlantic, on sharing ideas and on boosting the Atlantic r...
  • Authors
    December 7, 2019
    La présence de la France au Sahel n’est pas un sujet facile à discuter, à commenter ou à traiter. D’une part, l’intervention française, en 2013, (Opération Serval), avait permis de prolonger l’existence de l’Etat malien qui, sans l’opération française, n’aurait pas pu résister aux menées terroristes qui visaient Bamako. D’autre part, la présence française semble ne rien pouvoir changer à l’avancée du terrorisme dans la région, le phénomène semble même gagner du terrain devant l’imp ...
  • Authors
    Mourad El Manir
    December 3, 2019
    Le prix du meilleur roman africain de science-fiction au titre de l’année 2017 avait été remporté par Tade Thompson pour son livre intitulé «Rosewater» qui aborde l’histoire d’un agent des services de sécurité luttant contre les cyber-fraudes au Nigéria en 2066. Cette référence à un roman de science-fiction pour introduire les enjeux cybernétiques en Afrique n’est pas fortuite dans la mesure où le mot «cyberespace», inspiré du mot «cybernétique», fut utilisé, pour la première fois, ...