The entry into force of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), which integrates 12 countries including Vietnam, the third largest producer and second largest exporter of footwear worldwide, will create several challenges for the Mexican footwear industry.

Taking this into consideration, CICEG has identified the need to generate information of strategic value to define an "Agenda for Industrial Development" that can allow the local industry to address the challenges posed by their competitors, especially, Vietnam. "Effects of TPP in the footwear value chain in Mexico" and "The footwear industry in Vietnam" were the documents prepared by the Center for China-Mexico Studies (Cechimex), coordinated by Dr. Enrique Dussel and presented by CICEG.

In these studies Vietnam is considered a special challenge for the Mexican industry due to the scale of it manufacturers (the report estimates that Vietnamese companies have on average 640 workers per unit, which compares to 17 in Mexico); due to the existence of preferential financing and due to the support given to footwear companies by the local government. The same source indicates that in the period 2010-2014 Vietnam was the country with the highest dynamic in production growth globally, only after China, with a rate Average Annual Growth of 4.6%.

The local Industry Chamber expects these documents to be the base for a deep analyses on the potential effects of TPP in the footwear chain in Mexico, and will be using the content of the reports to present specific proposals to the local authorities and Public Policy makers, now that the time of the debate on the TPP in the Senate is approaching.