Mexico

Two years after the elimination of the import quota system under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA), the garment industry in Mexico is facing a crisis, resulting in a significant number of job losses for workers, who are often left without sufficient skills or training support to transition to jobs in other sectors.

While the imposition of safeguard measures limiting apparel imports from China has delayed the full impact of trade liberalization until 2008, the restructuring of the industry is clearly under way, affecting thousands of workers in Mexico. As an illustration of this accelerating trend, over the past year, reports of irresponsible and/or illegal practices related to restructuring, consolidation of production, and factory closures have increased significantly.

While the size of the overall industry may be reduced, Mexico will likely remain a garment producing country, and the garment industry will remain a source of employment for a significant number of Mexicans.

For buyers, turnaround time in particular for the US market and the benefits of a fast-growing domestic market for a number of international brands make Mexico an attractive location. However institutional weaknesses in labour standards enforcement are compounding the negative impacts of the current crisis. In Mexico, improved respect for worker rights and consistent enforcement of the national labour law in key garment producing centers are examples of achievable progress in this area that would overall strengthen the competitiveness of the local industry.

The Mexico sub-group of the MFA Forum Americas Working Group is interested in engaging with key actors in Mexico in order to discuss how the Forum might contribute toward addressing the current challenges facing the industry. For all, it is of particular importance that Mexico succeeds in positioning itself to achieve high objectives in the technical and business innovation areas while ensuring compliance with corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards and programs.