Events > LATAC Opportunities Brochure

Latin America & the Caribbean

Opportunities for UK companies

Mexico

In 2020, Mexico was forecasted to be the world’s 11th largest economy according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)[1].Total trade in goods and services between the UK and Mexico was £3.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2020[2].

Market Detail

Mexico is the second highest ranking[3] market in Latin America for ease of doing business, with a growing middle class and changing consumer habits. The first Latin American country to join the OECD, Mexico is a trade-based trillion-dollar[4] economy with ambitious development plans.

Under the current government, the country is focusing on poverty reduction and tackling corruption, themes in which the UK has significant capability and solutions to offer. Beyond this, there are many areas of shared opportunity between the UK and Mexico, including transport and mobility, financial services, tech, and cyber security. Work to remove market access barriers is opening up the Mexican market to new UK products, as was the recent case for wheat, and the COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to UK-Mexico collaboration on resilience-building and adaptation, in areas such as hospitals and specialist equipment, MedTech, education services, security, and digital innovation. Our UK offer is supported by UKEF, with a dedicated country limit for Mexico of £4 billion[5].

UK businesses exporting to Mexico will find:

  • A growing market with a population of over 127 million[6]    
  • Mexico is the second largest economy in Latin America. In 2021, the GDP projection is 4,3% of growth[7].
  • Free trade access to the US and Canada through USMCA (the revised NAFTA)
  • One of the biggest Free Trade Agreement networks in the world – as from 2020, 12 agreements covering 46 markets (including the UK), with the potential to access up to 60% of the world’s GDP[8]     
  • A young population and educated labour force with strong demand for bilingual education

Opportunities in Mexico for UK companies:

  • Healthcare and Life Sciences
  • Advanced Engineering and Automotive 
  • Infrastructure
  • Financial and Professional Services
  • Food & Drink
  • Sustainable energy

“The UK-Mexico Trade Continuity Agreement signed in 2020 guarantees ongoing tariff-free access for UK companies to this growing market.”

[1] This looks at GDP PPP data to facilitate comparison between markets. Data is from IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2020 [link]

[2] DIT Trade and Investment Factsheet [link], ONS UK Total Trade [link]

[3] World Bank, Ease of Doing Business 2020, [link]

[4] IMF World Economic Outlook, January 2021 [link]

[5] GOV.UK, Market Risk Appetite, 2013: [link]

[6] World Bank Population Statistics, 2019 [link]

[7] IMF World Economic Outlook, January 2021 [link]

[8] HSBC International Business Guide, Well connected, 2020: [link]