Made in Mexico, one of these days
Effective January 20, 2012, Mexico was admitted to the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies. It may sound like an arcane treaty of interest only to trade policy eggheads, but it actually stands to have concrete impact on some of Mexico’s most advanced manufacturing industries and their foreign business partners.
The Wassenaar Arrangement is an agreement among 41 manufacturing countries to abide by common guidelines intended to enhance transparency and responsibility in the exportation of arms and “dual-use” goods and technologies, which means those which could be used for both civilian and military applications. For example, a chemical used in plastics manufacturing that could also be used in chemical weapons would be considered a dual-use good. Participants in the arrangement must each implement their own internal controls and procedures domestically in compliance with the guidelines of the arrangement. Mexico applied for admission in June 2011, and was accepted as a member after implementing a system of export permits and reporting applicable to arms and dual use goods which entered into effect in October 2011. Read the rest of this entry »
