October 18, 2018

An exhibition of the African creative industry demonstrating the power, reach and profitability of African content will kick off in Nigeria on November 17 in partnership with the U.S. embassy of Nigeria. Dubbed “UNICON,” the exhibit will provide content creators with access to global consumers and stakeholders over two days of immersive engagements in animation, comics, African stories, video games, AR/VR, and graphic arts.

With 50 exhibitors, over 3,000 festival attendees, and local and international guests, delegates include Vault Comics, IDW Publishing, Lionheart Comics, 2CPR Group (education systems consultant) and author Tomi Adeyemi. Hosted by IBM Nigeria, the program comprises industry business case presentations, creative industry legal framework overview, and an international stakeholder panel discussion.

An industry fact sheet is available here. For event details, please visit UNICON’s website.

October 18, 2018

San Diego Padres celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month and the anniversary of various Latin American countries from September 14 to 16. The three-day celebration included Fiesta in the Park, Hispanic Heritage Night, and Mexican Independence Day featuring different experiences and activities each day. Chamber Vice President of International Business Affairs, Paola Avila, was selected to throw the Ceremonial First Pitch as part of the pregame ceremonies for the Padres game that Friday.

The following day, Ambassador Marcela Celorio led the traditional “grito” (a traditional Mexican interjection of joy or excitement) to celebrate the 208^th anniversary of the Mexican Independence for the first time from Petco Park, and welcomed the Honor Guard from Escuela Preparatoria Federal Lazaro Cardenas from Tijuana. Ambassador Celorio threw the Ceremonial First Pitch prior to Saturday’s game.

October 18, 2018

On September 18^th, the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego celebrated the 208^th anniversary of the Mexican Independence at the Institute of the Americas, University of California San Diego. The Chamber joined as a sponsor of this event, and is proud to work with Ambassador Marcela Celorio to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico relationship and advance cross border policy and items.

During the celebration, Ambassador Celorio presented Andy Carey, Executive Director from the Border Philanthropy Partnership with the Ohtli Award, which recognizes Mexican citizens working in the United States and other countries who provide assistance to fellow Mexican citizens and/or promote their culture.

October 18, 2018

The U.S.-Mexico Border Mayors Association was founded in 2011 to generate a strong advocacy voice for the binational metropolitan areas along the U.S.-Mexico border and their residents. Chamber President Jerry Sanders, then Mayor of San Diego, was one of the founders.

On September 21, over 25 Mayors from border cities along the U.S. – Mexico border gathered for the Border Mayors Association Binational Summit 2018 hosted in San Antonio, Texas. During the summit, the coalition of border mayors, including co-chairs Mayor Faulconer from the City of San Diego, and Mayor Gastelum from the City of Tijuana, signed two resolutions reaffirming their commitment to support international trade and funding for border infrastructure projects. With this resolution, the Border Mayors Association urged federal leaders to restore funding for the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program in next fiscal year’s budget.

“Together we can strengthen social and economic development for our region, especially on issues of border security and infrastructure as this benefits citizens on both sides of the border” stated Mayor Gastelum.

“By working together, this group of mayors plays a critical role in building bridges between our two countries and showing how collaboration can lead to economic prosperity for the border region,” Mayor Faulconer said.

October 18, 2018

Chamber President Jerry Sanders was honored with the International Tourism Merit Award from Tijuana’s Tourism and Convention Council (COTUCO). The award was presented by the Secretary of Economic Development of the City of Tijuana, Bernabe Esquer, who commended Jerry on his continued commitment to cross-border collaboration for the benefit of communities on both sides of the border. In his acceptance remarks, Jerry looked back at his strong relationship with the City of Tijuana during his time as Mayor of San Diego and currently as President of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. He expressed his gratitude to the different agencies across the region that have worked together to promote the Cali-Baja region.

The event took place on the evening of International Tourism Day at Tijuana’s Art and Culture House, one of Tijuana’s most emblematic buildings. COTUCO’s President, Francisco Villegas, highlighted that the Tourism Merit Awards recognize individuals who have played key roles in promoting our region’s tourism and significantly contributed to the development of our binational economy.

October 18, 2018

Jerry and staff met with Tijuana’s Economic Development Council’s new leadership, to discuss our organizations’ continue collaboration and strong partnership. CDT is a nonprofit organization that combines the voices of the State Government, City of Tijuana and business community in an effort to plan and implement long-term projects in Tijuana to increase economic and social development in the region. The City of Tijuana’s Strategic Plan includes nearly 300 infrastructure, economic development, and socio-cultural projects.

A second meeting will take place to discuss projects and partnership opportunities for CDT and the Chamber to work together on in the future.

October 18, 2018

A new trade agreement for North America has been reached. The Chamber has worked to emphasize the importance of reaching an agreement that preserves the trilateral nature of the North American trading block, a fundamental component of NAFTA.

Announced September 30, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) modernizes and improves several chapters from the original NAFTA while integrating new chapters to reflect industry needs and the changing economy. New chapters address small and medium sized businesses, energy, intellectual property, digital trade, and financial services, amongst others. USMCA contains stronger labor and environmental regulations than previous and existing agreements and a customs and trade facilitation chapter which reduces inefficiencies in customs processing, moves toward automation and electronic submissions by codifying enhancements made in recent years such as Unified Cargo Processing. This further reduces barriers to trade, a burden which San Diego bares as the host of the busiest land border crossing in the western hemisphere. Reducing these barriers are as effective as eliminating tariffs.

Another chapter of importance to the San Diego region is Chapter 16 which maintains the TN Visa. This is an important tool for regions like ours to attract and retain entrepreneurs and a growing workforce.

It is worth noting that consensus was reached on some of the more controversial issues including the sunset clause which calls for a review of the agreement in six years. In addition, the dispute resolution chapter remains intact. Unfortunately, steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada continue to be in effect. It is critically important to end these tariffs on imports from our top trading partners and fully restore our cross border partnerships and collaboration.

During the Chamber’s delegation trip to Washington D.C., USMCA was described across agencies as a model for future trade agreements and an “anchor” for the trilateral relationship. The signing of the agreement is expected to take place on November 30^th after which formal analysis, reports and draft legislation are issued. The legislative branches of the three countries will then consider approval of the agreement which is needed prior to official ratification and implementation.

The Chamber and partner organizations will be hosting informational forums. Please contact Kenia Zamarripa for more information.