Welcome to Monarch Global Strategies!
On August 1, 2017, we were proud to announce that ManattJones Global Strategies is now Monarch Global Strategies. Monarch has separated from its parent firm and is now an independently owned and operated strategic consulting firm. Our core team, our values and our commitment to excellence will not change. Nor will our clients, all of whom will be following us to the new Monarch platform. We will remain a truly bi-national, bi-literate and bi-cultural team that is deeply committed to the success of our clients and to doing business ethically and without compromise. You can learn more about us and our transition in our press announcement, here. Our new name, “Monarch” comes from the iconic Monarch Butterfly, which annually migrates to and from Mexico and Canada, traversing the United States. It is, in our view, an elegant image of North American integration, which is at the core of our firm’s values. Over the coming weeks and months, you will see some changes—in more than our name. Our new website, www.monarch-global.com, while still in the final stages of development, will showcase our evolving business model, our keen focus and insights on the development of the NAFTA renegotiations, and other initiatives we are pursuing. We are as confident as ever in the long-term economic benefits of investing and doing business in Mexico and North America, and we welcome your input and feedback as we build this new company.
…And Welcome to Monarch News
As we begin this new phase of our operations, we are pleased to continue with our monthly report, now rebranded Monarch News. Our goal is to provide our clients and friends of the firm with meaningful insights on developments in the U.S.-Mexico relationship, the Mexican economy and domestic Mexican politics on a monthly basis. We aggregate the most important news but also add our own analysis and insights. In time, look for us to broaden our focus to the greater North American region, including NAFTA news related to Canada. As of now, this is a free service that we hope you enjoy. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please follow the directions below to unsubscribe, and we will promptly remove you from our distribution list.
CEO’s Executive Summary for August: The Essentials
Mexico and the United States are preparing for the August 16 start of the NAFTA renegotiation. The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office formally released the core U.S. objectives in the upcoming trade talks, while the Mexican objectives were leaked to the press. Although the U.S. document emphasized the need to address U.S. trade deficits and modify the agreement’s dispute resolution mechanisms, it also called for maintaining reciprocal duty-free market access, and the bulk of the document identified areas where regional trade can be expanded. The Mexican document emphasized market access, labor mobility and the energy sector—see more below. Further encouraging news included a good meeting between the U.S. and Mexican presidents on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in early July, a welcome juxtaposition to the leaked transcript of the January phone call between Donald Trump and Enrique Peña Nieto. The Mexican economy generally and the peso specifically both exceeded expectations during the first half of 2017, but analysts still expect a slowing of growth, a weakening peso and a gradual reduction in inflation during the second half of the year. In the energy sector, the successful licensing of oil and gas fields to private actors was punctuated by Mexico’s first private oil discovery in 80 years. And despite the likely annulment of the June gubernatorial election in Coahuila, Mexican political attention is firmly focused on the 2018 presidential campaign.
Full Newsletter: Monarch News – August 2017