Monterey, NL. Although Nuevo León has been one of the main states that has implemented procedures simplification and deregulation policies, industrialists still face difficulties in obtaining environmental permits (25%); payment of state taxes (20.8%), public registration (12.5%); water services (8.3%); endorsement (8.3%) and cargo transportation (4.2%).
For this reason, 45.8% of the members of the Transformation Industry Chamber of Nuevo León (Caintra) asked to digitize all state and municipal procedures.
In this sense, the municipality of Monterrey signed this Wednesday, March 23, a memorandum of understanding with the Center for Economic Studies of the Private Sector (CEESP), to collaborate with the project “Competitive Municipalities: Smart Regulation and Business Commitment”.
Monterrey will be the first city council, out of a group of 15, that will participate in this project, which will favor a more competitive business environment that promotes economic growth and job creation.
The initiative has two objectives: to promote regulatory improvement through the simplification of administrative procedures and municipal services, and to strengthen local businessmen to promote their participation and regulatory compliance.
The organizers of the event are: CEESP, the Transformation Industry Chamber of Nuevo León, in collaboration with The Ergo Group and Jacobs, Cordova & Associates. This initiative is financed by the United States Agency for Development (USAID) and the private initiative.
Participating in the signing were Carlos Hurtado López, General Director of CEESP; Cintia Smith, secretary of Innovation and Open Government of the municipality. As witnesses of honor were Bruce Abrams, director of the United States Agency for Development (USAID), and Bernardo Bulnes García, president of the Caintra SME Commission.
Strengthen regulatory framework
On the other hand, CEESP highlighted that the capital of Nuevo León has made progress in strengthening its regulatory framework and processes, occupying fifth place at the national level (out of a total of 88 municipalities) evaluated by the subnational indicator of regulatory improvement, according to Indicator of the National Strategy for Regulatory Improvement (IENMR), in its 2019 evaluation.
Monterrey stands out for its strong industrial activity, income generation and significant integration into value chains in the North American region. The United States remains the main country of origin of the Foreign direct investment in the municipality, with an amount of 1,451 million dollars from January to September 2021.
“In this context, the alliance between CEESP and USAID strengthens the potential for economic integration and cooperation ties between Mexico and the United States,” said the organization, which is part of the Business Coordinating Council (CEC).
“The municipal government of Monterrey is aware of a number of areas of opportunity in its governance and regulatory processes to reduce costs for businesses and citizens. For example, at the state level, 81.8% of state companies identified monetary costs of regulatory compliance for an average value of 114,564 pesos per economic unit in 2020,” the agency quoted.
In addition, the aggregate social cost of the state with respect to a series of procedures and services represents 2.68% of the GDP of Nuevo León, according to estimates by the National Commission for Regulatory Improvement (Conamer), so there are areas of opportunity to reduce this cost in the accumulation of requirements and resolution of procedures, pointed out the CEESP.