Category: International

Following an announcement from the White House of an immigration reform bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 was introduced to Congress last week by Sen. Bob Menendez (NJ) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (CA).  The bill would provide an 8-year pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, increase the number of available diversity visas, […]

The Chamber is proud to partner with the UK Government Office in San Diego to host our upcoming International Business Affairs Forum featuring a virtual presentation and roundtable discussion with Greg Hands MP, UK Minister of State for Trade Policy. The forum will take place on March 18 at 9:00am and highlight the UK-San Diego […]

The Department of Homeland Security announced changes to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program effective March 9, 2021 which include: Replacing the random lottery system currently in place used to issue the annual quota of 85,000 new visas with a selection system that would favor petitions with higher salary offers. All H-1B registrants would first go […]

The temporary restrictions on non-essential travel across shared ports of entry between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico have been extended for an additional thirty days to February 21. These restrictions continue to impact our region’s retail and tourism, industries already critically hit by the pandemic. The Chamber has called for the restrictions to be lifted […]

The United States-Mexico Economic Partnership Act (H.R. 133) was signed into law just before the New Year. Authored by Rep. Cuellar (TX), the bill directs the Department of State to develop a strategy to further support economic ties between the U.S. and Mexico through academic and professional programs. In specific, H.R. 133 will: Encourage more […]

The Mexican Federal Government signed an agreement with Pfizer and AstraZeneca to produce and distribute 34.4 million and 77.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, respectively. While federal authorities continue to hold conversations with other pharmaceuticals to secure additional doses, the Secretariat of Health shared an overview of their distribution plan to be delivered in […]

This month’s International Business Affairs Forums explored the future of the energy sector and its role in strengthening and broadening the U.S.-Mexico relationship. Attendees heard from SEMPRA Energy’s affiliate in Mexico, IEnova, and Pattern Energy about the energy projects taking place in our region, challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and public-private opportunities within the […]

Last year, Governors Gavin Newsom of California, Jaime Bonilla of Baja California, and Carlos Mendoza of Baja California Sur, signed an MOU reestablishing the Commission of the Californias. The initiative created a binational forum to share information on common interests and issues, as well as discussing strategies to approach a solution together. This month, Lieutenant […]

President López Obrador traveled to Baja this month to meet with state and municipal authorities. During his visit, the President announced the extension of the “Zona Libre” program through 2024 and a plan to make the program permanent. “Zona Libre,” or the Economic Free Zone program, was implemented in 2019 in 43 municipalities bordering the […]

Baja’s Water Management, Sanitation, and Protection Agency (SEPROA) announced a project to provide much needed maintenance, repairs, and upgrades to the Punta Bandera wastewater treatment plant in Tijuana to help reduce transboundary pollution impacting our region. The project is estimated to cost $600 million pesos (about $30 million USD) with half of the funding provided […]