Doing Business In (Insert Country Name Here) - Department of ...
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corruption and government agencies at the federal, state and municipal levels areengaged in anti-corruption efforts. Aggressive investigations and operations haveexposed corruption at the highest levels of government. In 2008, Calderon launched"Operacion Limpieza," investigating and imprisoning alleged corrupt government officialsin enforcement agencies. The Secretariat of Public Administration has the lead oncoordinating government anti-corruption policy.Other government entities, such as the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF, theequivalent of the GAO), have been playing a role in promoting sound financialmanagement and accountable and transparent government with limited success as mostMexican external audit institutions (mostly at the state level) lack the operational andbudgetary independence to protect their actions from the political interests of thelegislators they serve.Mexico ratified the OECD convention on combating bribery in May 1999. The MexicanCongress passed legislation implementing the convention that same month. Thelegislation includes provisions making it a criminal offense to bribe foreign officials. Abribe to a foreign official cannot be deducted from Mexican taxes. Mexico is also a partyto the OAS Convention against Corruption and has signed and ratified the UnitedNations Convention against Corruption.The government has enacted strict laws attacking corruption and bribery, with averagepenalties of five to ten years in prison. A Federal Law for Transparency and Access toPublic Government Information Act, the country's first freedom of information act, wentinto effect in June 2003 with the aim of increasing government accountability. Mexico's31 states have passed similar freedom of information legislation that mirrors the federallaw and meets international standards in this field. Five years after its passage,transparency in public administration at the federal level has noticeably improved, butaccess to information at the state and local level has been slow.Mexico is ranked 89th in international NGO Transparency International's CorruptionPerception Index for 2009, lower than China, India, and Brazil. The NGO's 2008 BribePayer's Index also named Mexican firms as some of the most likely to use bribes whendoing business abroad. Local civil society organizations focused on fighting corruptionare still developing in Mexico. USAID continues to work with various with Mexican civilsociety and federal and state audit institutions to coordinate and promote anti-corruptionactivities. The Mexican branch of Transparency International also operates in Mexico.The best source of Mexican government information on anti-corruption initiatives is theSecretariat of Public Administration (www.funcionpublica.gob.mx).Bilateral Investment AgreementsReturn to topNAFTA governs U.S. and Canadian investment in Mexico. In addition to NAFTA, most ofMexico's eleven other free trade agreements (FTAs) cover investment protection, with anotable exception being the Mexico-European Union FTA. The network of Mexico'sFTAs containing investment clauses encompasses the countries of Bolivia, Chile, CostaRica, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, and Nicaragua.Mexico has enacted formal bilateral investment protection agreements (APPRIs-Agreements for Investment Promotion and Protection) with 27 countries: 14 EuropeanUnion Countries (Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), as well asAustralia, Argentina, China, Cuba, Iceland, India, Panama, Slovakia, South Korea,Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. An agreement with Slovakia has still tobe ratified by the Senate. Mexico continues to negotiate bilateral investment treaties withRussia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Dominican Republic.The United States and Mexico have a bilateral tax treaty to avoid double taxation andprevent tax evasion. Important provisions of the treaty establish ceilings for Mexicanwithholding taxes on interest payments and U.S. withholding taxes on dividendpayments. The implementation of the IETU on January 1, 2008 has led to questions asto whether the new tax meets the requirements of the bilateral tax treaty. The U.S.Internal Revenue Service presently allows businesses to credit the IETU against theirU.S. taxes. However, businesses should continue to monitor this issue.Mexico and the United States also have a tax information exchange agreement to assistthe two countries in enforcing their tax laws. The Financial Information ExchangeAgreement (FIEA) was enacted in 1995, pursuant to the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.The agreements cover information that may affect the determination, assessment, andcollection of taxes, and investigation and prosecution of tax crimes. The FIEA permitsthe exchange of information with respect to large value or suspicious currencytransactions to combat illegal activities, particularly money laundering. Mexico is amember of the financial action task force (FATF) of the OECD and has made progress instrengthening its financial system through specific anti-money-laundering legislationenacted in 2000 and 2004.OPIC and Other Investment Insurance ProgramsReturn to topIn August of 2004, Mexico and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation(OPIC) finalized an agreement that enables OPIC to offer all its programs and servicesin the country. Since then, OPIC has aggressively pursued potential investment projectsin Mexico, and the country rapidly became one of the top destinations for projects withOPIC support. As of September, 2008, OPIC was actively providing over $730 million infinancing and political risk insurance support to 17 projects in Mexico.In addition, OPIC-supported funds are among the largest providers of private equitycapital to emerging markets. Since 1994, OPIC has committed (as of FY2008) almost3.2 billion USD in funding to 43 private equity funds. The OPIC funds which arecurrently investing in Mexico include Alsis Latin America Fund, Darby-BBVA LatinAmerica Private Equity Fund, Darby ProBanco II Fund, Latin Power Trust III, andPaladin Realty Latin America Investors II. For a more detailed description of these fundsincluding fund contact information and investment strategy, please consult OPIC'swebsite at www.opic.gov.LaborReturn to topMexico's Federal Labor Law, enacted in 1931 and revised in 1970, is based on article123 of the Mexican constitution. Under the law, Mexican unions enjoy the rights toassociate, collectively bargain, and strike. Mexico has a three-tiered minimum wagestructure, and workers in the formal economy must be paid MX$57.46 (geographic AreaA), MX$55.84 (geographic Area B), or MX$54.47 (geographic Area C) per day in 2010.
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corruption and government agencies at the federal, state and municipal levels areengaged in anti-corruption efforts. Aggressive investigations and operations haveexposed corruption at the highest levels <strong>of</strong> government. <strong>In</strong> 2008, Calderon launched"Operacion Limpieza," investigating and imprisoning alleged corrupt government <strong>of</strong>ficialsin enforcement agencies. The Secretariat <strong>of</strong> Public Administration has the lead oncoordinating government anti-corruption policy.Other government entities, such as the Superior Audit Office <strong>of</strong> the Federation (ASF, theequivalent <strong>of</strong> the GAO), have been playing a role in promoting sound financialmanagement and accountable and transparent government with limited success as mostMexican external audit institutions (mostly at the state level) lack the operational andbudgetary independence to protect their actions from the political interests <strong>of</strong> thelegislators they serve.Mexico ratified the OECD convention on combating bribery in May 1999. The MexicanCongress passed legislation implementing the convention that same month. Thelegislation includes provisions making it a criminal <strong>of</strong>fense to bribe foreign <strong>of</strong>ficials. Abribe to a foreign <strong>of</strong>ficial cannot be deducted from Mexican taxes. Mexico is also a partyto the OAS Convention against Corruption and has signed and ratified the UnitedNations Convention against Corruption.The government has enacted strict laws attacking corruption and bribery, with averagepenalties <strong>of</strong> five to ten years in prison. A Federal Law for Transparency and Access toPublic Government <strong>In</strong>formation Act, the country's first freedom <strong>of</strong> information act, wentinto effect in June 2003 with the aim <strong>of</strong> increasing government accountability. Mexico's31 states have passed similar freedom <strong>of</strong> information legislation that mirrors the federallaw and meets international standards in this field. Five years after its passage,transparency in public administration at the federal level has noticeably improved, butaccess to information at the state and local level has been slow.Mexico is ranked 89th in international NGO Transparency <strong>In</strong>ternational's CorruptionPerception <strong>In</strong>dex for 2009, lower than China, <strong>In</strong>dia, and Brazil. The NGO's 2008 BribePayer's <strong>In</strong>dex also named Mexican firms as some <strong>of</strong> the most likely to use bribes whendoing business abroad. Local civil society organizations focused on fighting corruptionare still developing in Mexico. USAID continues to work with various with Mexican civilsociety and federal and state audit institutions to coordinate and promote anti-corruptionactivities. The Mexican branch <strong>of</strong> Transparency <strong>In</strong>ternational also operates in Mexico.The best source <strong>of</strong> Mexican government information on anti-corruption initiatives is theSecretariat <strong>of</strong> Public Administration (www.funcionpublica.gob.mx).Bilateral <strong>In</strong>vestment AgreementsReturn to topNAFTA governs U.S. and Canadian investment in Mexico. <strong>In</strong> addition to NAFTA, most <strong>of</strong>Mexico's eleven other free trade agreements (FTAs) cover investment protection, with anotable exception being the Mexico-European Union FTA. The network <strong>of</strong> Mexico'sFTAs containing investment clauses encompasses the countries <strong>of</strong> Bolivia, Chile, CostaRica, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, and Nicaragua.Mexico has enacted formal bilateral investment protection agreements (APPRIs-Agreements for <strong>In</strong>vestment Promotion and Protection) with 27 countries: 14 EuropeanUnion Countries (Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
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