December 2018
As part of his December 1 inaugural address, the new President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, announced his intention to create “the largest free trade zone in the world.” This free trade zone (Border FTZ) would be along the 3,180-km northern Mexican border and would stretch 25 km into Mexico. President Lopez Obrador stated his expectation that the Border FTZ would be effective as of January 1, 2019.
The new President first publicly expressed this plan in his July 17, 2018 letter to President Trump. In that letter and in his inaugural address, the new President spoke of the Border FTZ as a mechanism to ensure similar economic conditions for businesses operating along both sides of the border. President Lopez Obrador has repeated his view of the envisioned Border FTZ as “the last curtain of development” to retain, through jobs and well-being, those Mexicans who seek more economic opportunity.
The December 1 announcement affirms the primary characteristics of the Border FTZ:
Multinational groups doing business in Mexico, particular with active operations along the Mexico United States border should consider the potential business impacts of the Border FTZ, including income tax, VAT, pricing, the effect on operating margin, and profit sharing.