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The Holidays… Time for Reflection

[quote]Lea Marquez-Peterson
President/CEO at Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce[/quote]
The holidays are upon us and it is a time of reflection and planning for our businesses for the New Year. While we enjoy time with our families and loved ones, many of us may be traveling throughout Arizona and Sonora. This is the time to look beyond the tourist attractions to the business opportunities as you travel in our region.

As I reflect on the past year and our activities related to trade with our closest partner, Mexico, I think of the opportunities that lie ahead. Over the past six years, as I have served as President of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I have seen an increased awareness of how valuable our business relationships are to our region. Conversation in Arizona still centers on border security, however there is a renewed interest on the ease of commercial access to our transportation routes and concern with any impediments to trade.

The New Year brings with it the opportunity to improve our cross border collaboration. Our chamber has worked closely with the Mexican chambers in Sonora, such as Canaco, Canacintra and Coparmex to build relationships and partnerships over the last five years. However, if we are measuring success in both of our states based upon trade dollars, we have a way to go to build our supply chain. There are several organizations in Arizona focused on improving our business connections to grow the supply chain – from the Arizona Mexico Commission to our own chamber’s International Trade committee. Challenges lie with the lack of a comprehensive business database for both Arizona and Sonoran businesses, education on the necessary steps to begin exporting and access to capital for businesses along the border.

At the Tucson Hispanic Chamber, we’ve attempted to tackle these issues with the launch two years ago of the Arizona Sonora Business Resource Guide in partnership with the Arizona Daily Star. The Guide contains 1600 businesses in both states engaged in trade who have bilingual staff and can be downloaded directly to your smartphone via a mobile app. Business education is a need on both sides of the border. Our chamber has received a U.S Small Business Administration grant to provide expert assistance and business consulting and also refers business owners to other governmental agencies which provide free assistance for exporting. We also continuously seek Mexican resources for businesses interested in investing and expanding into Arizona. A majority of the businesses in Arizona are small businesses which continue to face challenges in business lending in today’s market. The recent economic recession has left many industries battered and they struggle to find key financial sources to grow their businesses. Our chamber has recently partnered with an online lender, Credit Junction to provide asset-based loans to U.S entities seeking over $200,000. We continue to work closely with our U.S based banks and credit unions for additional funding sources for Arizona businesses.

For each of these challenges, there are also great opportunities in growing trade between Arizona and Sonora. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey values our business relationship with Mexico greatly and we are highly encouraged to promote and grow trade relations. Per the North American Research Partnership, the mining industry in Arizona makes up nearly 25% of our state’s exports to Mexico. Manufacturing, such as machinery, automotive and components makes up another 35% of Arizona’s exports. Nearly 70% of Sonora’s exports to the United States are comprised of products from this same manufacturing cluster.

Many of the businesses our chamber works closely with can participate as suppliers and customers to these dominant industries. The key is creating the business connection via face-to-face introductions and meetings. Over the holidays, I encourage business leaders throughout the region to reflect on opportunities for trade. At the Tucson Hispanic Chamber, we are a resource to your business in making these valuable connections. We believe that 2016 will be a dynamic year of business growth and look forward to co-hosting events in Arizona and Sonora to assist businesses in cross-border collaboration. Learn more at www.TucsonHispanicChamber.org.

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