Phoenix officials on Wednesday agreed to spend up to $175,000 to set up and staff a trade office in Mexico City.
Doing so, they say, will give the city a better chance at grabbing the more than $26 billion in trade that Mexico does annually with Arizona.Phoenix and Arizona have lagged other border states in exports to Mexico. Arizona exported about $6.3 billion in goods to Mexico in 2012, compared with $26.4 billion from California and $94.5 billion from Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Arizona exports $6 billion worth of merchandise to Mexico annually, according to the Arizona-Mexico Commission.
City staff hopes the office will strengthen foreign direct investment, expand export opportunities for Phoenix businesses and promote tourism. Officials say Mexico's trade relationship with Arizona supports more than 110,000 jobs.
The City Council voted to enter an agreement that will provide $75,000 to the Arizona Commerce Authority to establish an Arizona Trade Office in Mexico City.
Multiple organizations will share space with the Arizona Commerce Authority and Phoenix to cut costs. Staffers said this "co-locating concept" is vital to the success of the Mexico City effort. DiCiccio said the office should open this fall.
Other major funders to the office include Visit Phoenix, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Maricopa Association of Governments. But Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said the value of this office goes beyond Phoenix.
"The success of this office won't be just for Phoenix businesses, but for the entire state," he said. "Because we don't exist as an island, but we're a part of a larger economy."
The council voted to pay Phoenix-based Molera Alvarez up to $100,000 to represent Phoenix's interest in Mexico. Molera Alvarez is a government and public-affairs firm. Former Phoenix Councilman Claude Maddox is the firm's vice president of government and public relations.
Councilman Sal DiCiccio early questioned the city's plans to hire a lobbyist instead of establishing a true trade office, but he was quite supportive of the vote Wednesday.
"This is a really good thing for the city of Phoenix," he said. "This literally moves the state forward and the city of Phoenix forward and gives us the opportunity to go out there and generate our own business and partner with the state of Arizona."
Molera Alvarez will focus on enhancing supply-chain management opportunities for Phoenix businesses in Mexico. The firm also will implement visitation programs for elected officials and business leaders.
The city has been discussing ways to strengthen its economic ties with Mexico for years. The focus on increasing trade is mutual, DiCiccio said. Pro-Mexico, an economic-development organization for the Mexican government, plans to open an office in Phoenix by the end of the year, he said.
Councilman Michael Nowakowski praised the idea and hopes Phoenix plans to open offices in other Mexican cities in the future, specifically Hermosillo, one of Phoenix's sister cities.
"The state of Arizona and state of Sonora are going to get out there and let the world know they are open for business," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment