Guest Column

Mexican Trade Office in San Francisco: Building business links between California and Mexico.

By Bernardo Méndez 

We know that Latino population is growing fast in the US and we are close to 40 million people now, a market that is about the same size of the whole Mexican Market of 105 millions. What we have to know is that California is the leading state in Latino and Mexican population and nearly one million businesses and companies belong to Latino entrepreneurs. According to a recent book by Professor David Hayes-Bautista of UCLA Latino Children born in California make now more than half of California births and very soon -maybe in a couple of years- Latino students will be majority in k-12 public school system, his own book title is a simbolic statement of Spanish presence in California and USA: "La Nueva California: Latinos in the Golden State" by University of California Press, 2004. 

Of the 40 million Latinos in the USA, Mexican descent population make more than 25 million of which more than 10 million live and work in California. The San Francisco Bay Area including San Francisco, Oakland, all East Bay, San Jose, Stockton and Sacramento has close to 2 million Latinos, many of them starting, micro, small and medium corporations. Very important to avoid the stereotype of Mexican only as day laborers and cheap labor, hundreds of Mexicans that were farm workers in Northern California are now succesful entrepreneurs of all venues: wine-makers, chain of restaurants, insurance brokers, high technology and software producers, you name it and we are all over the business spectrum.

You want to buy Mexican products and services or invest in Mexico? just visit the web page of the Mexican Foreign Trade Bank: www.bancomext.com For more personal attention write to the Bank LA Office: mextrade@earthlink.net  For financial information on Mexico and buying in the Mexican Stock Market, visit the web page of the Mexican Ministry of Finance:  www.shcp.gob.mx  do not forget the Mexican Bank for Development with important programs for Mexicans in the US: www.nafin.gob.mx

The Mexican government is also active starting a new Technological Business Accelerator or Enterprise Incubator with 25 Mexican high Tech companies already in Silicon Valley learning the edge technology and marketing of this region, visit: www.techba.com   it will be inaugurated on February 28th by both US and Mexico Trade Ministers.

Most Mexican web pages have English version, for example the American Business Chamber of Mexico: www.amcham.com.mx  you will find key information for investing in Mexico and wide tips for doing business in Mexico.

Each state of Mexico (there are 32 states, just write the name of the state like www.jalisco.gob.mx and all the rest is the same) has a web site where you find all information of local exporters and promotional kits as tax free policies or low cost industrial parks and many times wide programs to attract foreign investors or al so federal government policies to establish your company in Mexico, see for example: www.maquilaportal.com for establishing Mexican branch or supplier of your company in Mexico. A San Francisco Consulting firm has more than 25 years providing information and essential links for US firms willing to invest in Mexico, please visit: www.mexicoconsulting.net

Most of Mexican states have a Foreign Trade Commission and some of them have offices in the USA and California. For example, the state of Guanajuato has a Trade Office in LA to promote exports of Guanajuato and attract foreign investments to the state, visit: www.cofoce.gob.mx or www.guanajuato.gob.mx

If you are exporting to Mexico fresh produce or animals you will need to contact the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture: www.sagarpa.gob.mx  or the US Food and Drug Administration: www.fda.gov   

It is always good and useful to visit the Customs web sites of Mexico and the USA to have clear idea of new regulations and new security measures in both countries and the new US Anti-Bioterrorism Law: www.customs.gov and don ot forget the US Trade Department: www.trade.gov  and for Mexico: www.aduanas.gob.mx and www.economia.gob.mx   It is useful to contact mexican custom-brokers in their web site: www.caaarem.org.mx  with many key links to Mexican web sites.

The US Tax Authority web site: www.irs.gov  has good information for avoiding dual taxation when you do business with Mexico or other countries that the US has internatioan treaties for avoiding double taxation.

You can not really go far in business if you do noy know all the resources you can use to promote your business with the Hispanic communities in the US or Mexico and Latin American countries. You really need to visit the Small Business Administration web site: www.sba.gov and also know your own California state tools visiting  www.calgold.ca.gov  or www.locate.ca.gov  or the wonderful official page of California Government: www.ca.gov 

For doing business in San Francisco, please visit: www.sfgov.org/sbc  An outstanding Small Business Week took place from April 25th to April 30th in many City venues. According to Mark Quinn, District Director of the Small Business Administration Office for Northern California based in San Francisco "no other city in the United States organized more events and activities to highlight the National Small Business Week 2005 as San Francisco". The National Small Business Week was launched by President Bush on Monday April 25th in Washington, DC.

Mark Quinn is responsible for the administration of a total SBA business loan portfolio of more than $4 billion; the oversight of eight (8) Small Business Development Centers; the approvals of SBA guaranty loans, which during 2004 totaled over $482 million made through over 100 lending institutions, and the coordination of four (4) chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a volunteer organization that provides free business counseling. The San Francisco District Office has a staff of 57 employees, they provide advise and services for all counties from Santa Cruz to Crescent City in the bordering CA county of Del Norte with the State of Oregon.

It is worth mentioning that the Small Business Administration Office located in the heart of the financial district in San Francisco organizes every week at least 10 different workshops and seminars to help small business people and especially new entrepreneurs to learn all what they need to start a new business, set up a new firm and get the skills of new technologies for marketing and promoting all kind of goods and services. Most of these seminars and talks are free of charge or very low fees, you want to register now, please do it at: www.acteva.com/go/sba 

Gary Marshall, Media Relations Officer for SBA in San Francisco and Northern California said to the Mexican Trade Office Business News Service that " we also provide services in Spanish, we have especial advise and support in Spanish on Fridays by Score and Small Business Center bilingual experts in our offices at 455 market Street, Sixth Floor, just a few yards from BART Embarcadero, any one coming from East Bay will arrive easily to join our seminars, many of them starting early in the morning, some others at noon or early evening, we have a wide range of themes and issues for all kind of interests and business needs and provide accurate brochures and advise, please visit us, you don't need an appointment, just pass by and discover the possibility of a great change in your routine and business life, you are so close to become an entrepreneur as never before joining our seminars and workshops at SBA".

If you are working at US national wide, you will need to visit: www.firstgov.gov  and for exporting your goods and services abroad you will need to visit: www.exports.gov  and www.buyusa.com

For Mexican  web sites regarding workers conditions, minimum wages, etc you will need to visit the Mexican labor Department web site: www.stps.gob.mx  and the Federal Environment Secretary: www.semarnat.gob.mx  

There are health regulations at Us Federal level for your business facilities including workers safety, you will find very useful the OSHA web site:  www.osha.gov   For environmental regulations you really need to visit: www.epa.gov  and of course do not forger the US Labor Department web site: www.dol.gov

For Mexican National industry Chamber you need to visit:: www.canacintra.org.mx  y and for Mexican National Commerce Chamber, visite: www.concanaco.org.mx

For all Hispanic Commerce Chambers of California, you will find the link to each chamber at: www.cahcc.com/Regions.html   

Please contact me for any further information on Mexico or Mexicans in the SF Bay Area and Northern California. Just thinking to visit and explore Mexico? you really will love our web in English: www.visitmexico.com  or are you an alternative traveler? visit: www.ourmexico.com  and www.mexicodesconocido.com  both in English.

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Bernardo Méndez, Mexican Trade Consul for the San Francisco Bay Area. Tel 415-354-1731  www.sre.gob.mx/sanfrancisco

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