Mexico Entry into the Wassenaar Agreement May Boost Manufacturing

The Wassenaar Arrangement, otherwise known by its full name as “The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies,” was established in the Netherlands in July of 1996, in the town of Wassenaar.

It effectively took the place of an earlier agreement that had been implemented during the Cold War called the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls or COMECON.

Under the Waasenaar Arrangement, and its predecessor COMECON, signatory nations seek to prevent the proliferation of dual use technology that may, in addition to serving legitimate commercial purposes, be employed in applications that have military use. The government of Mexico made a formal request to be included in the Wassenaar Arrangement on June 17, 2011.

Mexico formally became the 41st signatory to the Waasenaar Arrangement on January 25th of the present year, 2012. During the document signing ceremony, the lead individual in the Mexican delegation, the Undersecretary for Industry and Commerce, related that leaders in the Mexican aerospace, auto parts and electronics industries fully supported the decision of the Mexican government to become the latest nation to participate in the accord. Industry leaders view this as a positive development, as well as an opportunity creator for the country.

Through Mexico’s participation in the Wassenar Arrangement, manufacturers in Mexico will have the framework in place by which to acquire high technology inputs. Doing so will be critical to Mexico’s ability to employ hi-tech production lines and processes, thereby enabling the country the means by which to manufacture greater value added product and attract higher paying jobs through both foreign and internal investment. In essence, the voluntary inclusion of Mexico in the Arrangement will give manufacturers in Mexico the ability to obtain resources and inputs from which access was previously barred.

As of a result of Mexico’s signing of the Waasenaar Arrangement, permits for the export of dual-use technology governed by Waasenaar will be required