LATIN AMERICAN BUSINESS TRADE MISSION

Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico
March 25-April 4, 2009

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Doing Business in Mexico

The Printing and Graphic Arts industry in Mexico is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. However, the lack of technology and training slows its economic development. There are many business opportunities for U.S. exporters of machinery and supplies. Mexican customers demand price, quality, service, delivery times, after sale service, warranty, and payment terms among others. Therefore, the suggested strategy to successfully cover the Mexican market is to hire a distributor who has technicians in their staff to better satisfy the clientele.

Market Overview

The Graphic Arts industry in Mexico contributes 3.7 percent of the national GDP generating 140,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect jobs. It has been an important part of the economy with more than 17,000 companies. Out of this number, 97.7 percent of these companies are mainly small and micro-sized companies. Moreover, more than 4,500 companies are located in Mexico City and surrounding areas. This report covers the sectors of book, magazine, newspaper, journal, printing as well as advertising (posters, billboards, promotional materials, point of purchase displays), container packaging, labeling, brochures, catalogs and forms.
The Graphic Arts Industry includes mainly: offset, serigraphy, digital, flexography, gravure and typography.

Doing Business in Costa Rica

With a population of 4 million people, what kind of market does Costa Rica represent for U.S. exporters?

Costa Rica's main trading partner is the United States, both for buying and selling local products.

The trade with Costa Rica during 2006 was US $ 3,84 billion in U.S. imports from Costa Rica and US $4,13 billion exports to Costa Rica. (Source: US Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division)

Doing Business in the Dominican Republic

• 7th Largest Market for U.S. Exports: In the Western Hemisphere, the Dominican Republic is the seventh largest trading partner of the United States (following Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile). 
• Solid Economic Growth: As the largest democratic country in the Caribbean (Gross Domestic Product of more than US$20 billion), the DR has experienced solid economic growth since 2005 (9.3% in 2005, 10.7% in 2006 and 8.5% in 2007) and is home to over 9 million people with a per capita income of over $2500.
• Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.:  On March 1, 2007 the CAFTA-DR Free Trade Agreement was implemented allowing almost 80% of U.S. goods to enter the DR duty free.  In addition to tariff reduction, CAFTA-DR provides new market access for U.S. consumer, industrial and agricultural products. It also provides unprecedented access to government procurement, liberalizes the services sectors, protects U.S. investments in the region, and strengthens protections for U.S. patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Learn more about CAFTA-DR1.
• Significant Cultural and Economic Ties: The United States remains a vital economic and cultural partner of the Dominican Republic.  The U.S. has a 60% market share of Dominican Imports and is also the largest provider of development assistance to the region providing $318 million to the country in 2002. 
• Growing Bilateral Trade: The U.S. and the Dominican Republic enjoy a very strong commercial relationship. Bilateral trade amounted to US$10.3 billion in 2007. This represents United States exports totaling US$6.1 billion and imports from the Dominican Republic totaling US$4.2 billion.   
• Increasing Economic Liberalization: During the past two administrations, the Dominican government has increasingly adopted policies directed toward economic liberalization, including privatizing most state-owned enterprises, improving intellectual property rights protection, and working constructively in multilateral fora, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).