Mexico

Policy Position

With the next millennium dawning on the horizon there is an excitement permeating the atmosphere here in Mexico. This excitement is the result of the opportunities and the possibilities that each new year brings; so the question becomes, "How much greater are the opportunities and possibilities of a new millennium." The 1990s were a period of unprecedented growth reaching and exceeding our wildest expectations and estimations. The gross domestic products (GDP) in 1997 grew at an astonishing 7%, the highest level of growth for our country since 1981. Our industrial and manufacturing sectors showed increases of 7.5% and 8.2% respectively. As a nation we must credit our growth to the aggressiveness we have shown in pursuing a greater role in the global economy and the development of new partnerships in the areas of investment and trade through our association with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization.

Mexico has been an active participant of APEC since its inception and has whole-heartedly supported the three pillars of its activities: trade and investment liberalism, business facilitation, and economic cooperation. Since the founding of APEC in 1989, regulatory improvements and deregulation have been pinnacle points of Mexico’s structural reform program. Many existing rules within APECs infrastructure have been eliminated or simplified along with deregulating many previously regulated industries. Through these new initiatives Mexico aspires to attract new investment and business into our country. It is also our hope that these actions will be seen as good faith measures towards other APEC member economies and encourage them to adopt similar ideologies in order to boost the overall economic well being within the Asia-Pacific region.

Mexico has shown strong support in previous APEC forums to engage and to facilitate the free flow of information regarding science and technology. We feel that science and technology must be for the people, by the people. In this knowledge based society, traveling down the information super highway, it is imperative that all people are given the opportunity to benefit from the wealth of new sciences and new technologies. Mexico is committed to supporting the goals and objectives of APEC while maintaining the sovereignty of each member economy.

Mexico has been the lead economy in APEC concerning the areas of Geographic Indicators, Information Exchange, Collective Action, and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights during the past Intellectual Property Rights Expert Group (IPEG) meetings. The main focus of contention regarding Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for Mexico has been in the areas of enforcement, collective actions, and sharing information. As Mexico emphasized in IPEG’s 8th meeting, "Adequate enforcement of IPR is critical to maintaining the integrity of intellectual property laws." Mexico adamantly stated in the same meeting, "...that effective enforcement cannot necessarily be achieved by each country in isolation, and that cooperation between trading partners is essential for available resources to be best applied to dealing with trade or infringing goods." Along with other members, Mexico has supported the need for collective cooperation in order to enforce IPR infringements. Mexico agrees that information must be shared between member economies as to practices, procedures and violations in a timely fashion. The sharing of information will enable the IPEG members to recognize trends in the global market place for IPR infringements. Mexico’s emphasis on enforcement, collective action, and sharing information clearly indicates the commitment to implementing global changes to comply with WTO/TRIPS Agreement standards in regards to Intellectual Property Rights laws and regulations.

In 1991, Mexico instituted major changes in laws regarding IPR to meet the demands of the expanding global marketplace. The commitment to these changes has inspired Mexico to support the enforcement of new IPR laws and regulations throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Through the collective actions of APEC, Mexico has been able to recover from the economic turmoil we all experienced in the 1990s. Cooperation on IPR issues has allowed Mexico to stabilize its economy along with contributing to the recovery and to the stabilization of all member economies in the Asia-Pacific Region. The Asia-Pacific region will need to work together to achieve the irradication of IPR violations in the global market; actions of a single economy will not be sufficient to combat or to deter violations and infringements of IPR regulations and laws. APEC/IPEG will continue to be the driving force for the standardization and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights rules and regulations for the new millennium.

In addition to the IPEG group, the Industrial Science and Technology (IST) group is an essential part of APEC. Due to the fact that the majority of the countries in APEC are either underdeveloped or developing, the IST places an emphasis on improving the quality of life and safeguarding the natural environment while achieving sustainable development. Since 1994, Mexico has launched a new systematic regulatory reform program in order to overcome a skewed distribution of wealth in an increasingly polarized society with the goal of attaining an average annual GDP of 5% while keeping inflation in the single digits. The majority of Mexico’s trade is conducted within the APEC community and is therefore effected by the socioeconomic status of the Asia-Pacific population. Societal and environmental strains are suffered due to the lack of regulations and the transient nature of the transnational corporation (TNC); this makes it difficult to sustain a strong economy.

The untapped natural resources in the Asia-Pacific region need environmental protection. For example, like many other member economies Mexico is a country that relies heavily on tourism to contribute to its GDP. Maintaining the natural beauty and the balance of nature while being able to benefit from one’s own resources is essential for sustainable development. The APEC members’ strive for industrialization must be sensitive to the threat of environmental degradation while developing industrialization policies. It is our position that the Asia-Pacific region, working cooperatively through APEC/IST, needs to establish environmental and international business regulations.

Being on the road to recovery from the recent economic crisis and low oil prices, Mexico and other APEC members can be thankful for their recent prosperity; however must be aware that complacency could halt the recovery process. Mexico is confident that new open trade and investment agreements will generate more jobs, greater welfare and an equity for the Asia-Pacific community. Having recently moved up in the international economic scene, we feel that Mexico can bridge the gap between developed and underdeveloped member economies of APEC. Mexico is committed to the continuing role that APEC and its member economies will play in the global marketplace in this millennium. Mexico is ready to enter these negotiation with an optimism that collectively the member economies of APEC will resolve the issues surrounding Intellectual Property Rights and Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific region. May the fruit of our labors today become the foundations to a prosperous and successful future for all the member economies of APEC.