North America – NAFTA: a free trade agreement to take advantage of

On March 10, the third free day of the series of practical workshops to help internationalization ALCOBENDAS POR EL MUNDO, organized jointly by the City Council of Alcobendas and ACOCEX, was held.

On this occasion, our speakers explained to the attendees how to take advantage of the NAFTA free trade agreement, in force between Mexico, the United States and Canada, to introduce our products and services in North America.

Ignacio Bartolomé of HOW2GO ConsultingConsulting explained the main characteristics and opportunity sectors of the Mexican market, as well as the guidelines to follow to successfully overcome the differences in the way of doing business between Mexico and Spain, which should not be underestimated. He also explained, with a real case, how to take advantage of NAFTA to enter Mexico first and, once settled there, to be able to tackle with greater strength a market as competitive as the US in the sports sector.
Germán Loperena from VP EAEC – European American Enterprise Council explained the importance of not wanting to tackle the U.S. market as a whole, unmanageable at first, and showed how it is much more profitable and safer to start in a single state where we can concentrate our efforts, learn and grow. He gave real examples of sectors such as wooden doors, engineering and technological products. In the latter case, he indicated how to take advantage of NAFTA to test products for the USA in Mexico, avoiding the initial investment to obtain certificates.

Opal Morales of OBM Legal Consulting, illustrated how Canada can be a very advantageous entry platform to the NAFTA markets for Spanish companies. In fact, they can first take advantage of the advantages and facilities offered by the CETA treaty, signed between Canada and the EU, to enter the Canadian market and, following the practical case of a company in the IT sector that was incorporated there with Spanish capital, later expand to the US.