IMPROVING QUALIFYING
INDUSTRIAL ZONES:
Successes, Failures, & Emerging
Opportunities

by Percy Charlot, Henry Hurst,
Alyssa Jones, Noah Migues,
Madison Murfield, and Liam Nagle
Diplomacy Lab Report
American University 2025
Supervised: Ambassador/Professor Earl Anthony Wayne

Summary:
This report examines the historical context, successes,
and challenges of the current Qualifying Industrial
Zones (QIZ) framework. QIZs are part of a trade initiative involving the United States, Israel, Egypt, and the Hashemite Jordan. Developed initially to foster Arab-Israeli normalization and regional economic
cooperation under the 1994 Oslo Accords, QIZs have
generated measurable benefits such as increased
exports and employment, particularly in the textile and
garment industries. However, critical shortcomings
persist, including exploitative labor conditions, limited
technological advancement, and minimal regional
political normalization impact. With the evolving
geopolitical climate, especially the Israel-Hamas
conflict, this memo evaluates the relevance of QIZs in
today’s Middle East. Drawing on expert interviews,
economic data, and comparative analysis with China’s
SEZ model, the memo proposes modernizing QIZs by
integrating high-tech industries, expanding to include
Palestinian labor zones, and leveraging Gulf
investments. This memo recommends seeking
assistance from American and Gulf companies to
establish job training, working with regional
governments to expand the QIZ structure abroad, and
improving labor conditions in existing QIZs and other
regional industrial zones.

Analysis and Recommendations for U.S. Policy Towards Mexico

Tristen Boga-Torres, Marielle DeVos, Diego Foglio, Mei Miller, Berkley Pelletier, Justin Stewart, Henry Su

American University Diplomacy Lab
Spring 2025
Guided by Professor/Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne

Executive Summary
Strategic Context
The United States-Mexico relationship stands at a critical juncture with interconnected challenges and opportunities across three fundamental pillars: trade, migration, and security cooperation. As Mexico surpassed China as America's largest trading partner in 2023 with two-way trade in goods totaling $807 billion, the economic dimension of this relationship has gained
new strategic significance. Meanwhile, irregular migration flows and transnational criminal organizations continue to test bilateral cooperation mechanisms and demonstrate the need for a new approach to the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

Pillar I: Trade and USMCA
The U.S.-Mexico economic relationship offers substantial strategic advantages for the United States in a world shaped by economic competition. Mexico's manufacturing capacity provides the U.S. with a crucial opportunity to reduce dependency on Chinese supply chains, particularly in critical industries like semiconductors, electric vehicles, and rare earth minerals, while building up manufacturing capacity domestically. However, recent protectionist measures
threaten to undermine North American competitiveness.

The upcoming 2026 USMCA review presents a unique opportunity to strengthen North American integration and economic independence while addressing persistent challenges that impact both nations' prosperity and security.

Key Recommendations:
• Implement stricter rule-of-origin requirements to incentivize North American suppliers to reshore operations in critical industries.
• Create tax incentives to subsidize the upfront costs of nearshoring manufacturing for American businesses.
• Expand regional supply chains for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and rare earth minerals.
• Develop a trilateral investment fund to accelerate domestic production of critical components.
• Extend the USMCA beyond 2036 while establishing mechanisms for periodic adjustments.
• Strengthen energy cooperation to enhance regional independence and security.

Pillar II: Migration Management
Irregular migration through Mexico to the United States follows four principal patterns: Northern Triangle migration, transcontinental migration, disproportionately elevated levels of migration from select Latin American states in crisis, and ongoing Mexican migration. Current approaches have proven insufficient to manage these complex flows.

Key Recommendations:
• Build a Latin American Strategic Partnership as a modernized forum to address shared migration challenges.
• Establish trilateral cooperation with Mexico and Guatemala to formalize their border and
strengthen enforcement.
• Enhance coordination between U.S. federal agencies and Mexican state-level governments to disrupt smuggling routes.
• Eliminate irregular northbound transit via freight trains through targeted enforcement.
• Conduct comprehensive labor market studies to align temporary worker programs with U.S. economic needs.
• Modernize and expand intelligence sharing systems between the United States and Mexico.
• Implement circular migration programs that facilitate legal temporary work while ensuring return to countries of origin. 

Pillar III: Security Cooperation
Transnational security threats—particularly drug trafficking by cartels now designated as Specially Designated Terrorist Groups and weapons smuggling—require modernized approaches to border management and bilateral cooperation. 

Key Recommendations:
• Implement reversible border lanes to double enforcement capacity based on daily traffic patterns.
• Establish pre-clearance programs at Mexican ports of entry for enhanced security screening.
• Invest in advanced border technology including Autonomous Surveillance Towers, American-made drones, and AI-integrated scanning systems.
• Create joint task forces focused specifically on arms trafficking and drug interdiction.
• Develop structured training programs between U.S. and Mexican border forces. 
• Increase frequency of FFL compliance inspections in border states to reduce illicit arms sales.
• Enhance crime gun intelligence sharing between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies.

Conclusion
The U.S.-Mexico relationship represents far more than a border management challenge—it constitutes a strategic opportunity to advance American prosperity and security in an increasingly competitive global environment. By implementing a coordinated approach across
trade, migration, and security pillars, the United States can position North America as the world's most economically competitive region while addressing persistent bilateral challenges. 

Success will require leveraging emerging technologies, fostering greater regional cooperation, extending into Central America, and developing strategic energy initiatives that promote stability and prosperity throughout the region. This approach recognizes the interconnected nature of these challenges and creates mutually reinforcing solutions that serve the long-term interests of both the United States and Mexico.

President Donald Trump’s attempt to close the congressionally mandated agency USAID without congressional approval has shocked policymakers and activists worldwide. It doesn’t appear to have shocked Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum. She backed the closure in her Wednesday press conference, calling it “for the best” and criticizing what she described as a lack of transparency. It’s a claim that raised eyebrows among the aid community in Mexico, given how publicly accessible its work was up u...

HighlightsTrade and CommerceModerated by Enrique Perret and Lila Abed, this discussion spotlighted the economic interdependence that drives North America’s prosperity, exploring innovative ways to deepen trade relationships.Migration and Labor MobilityAndrew Selee and Dr. Ernesto Castañeda provided invaluable insights into the region's evolving labor dynamics and migration trends, emphasizing the importance of adaptive policies for shared success.Educational and Professional ExchangeAt the Inter...

🚨 Brief on US-Mexico relations with recommendations for president-elect #Trump to deepen 🇺🇸🇲🇽 cooperation.

Amb.
@EAnthonyWayne
and I wrote the chapter on the USMCA Review & #Nearshoring, detailing strategies to boost competitiveness.
@MexicoInstitute

The Wilson Center | Mexico Institute in partnership with the US-Mexico Foundation held the fourth edition of Convocation, a unique platform that convenes former and current ambassadors from the US, Mexico, and Canada to discuss the most pressing issues in North America.

We discussed trade and investment, the upcoming 2026 USMCA review, migration and labor mobility, soft power, and security in North America.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is at a critical juncture as the 2026 review approaches. Born from the renegotiation of NAFTA, the USMCA has driven remarkable economic growth in North America, with trade surging and regional integration deepening. However, the review presents opportunities and risks as political dynamics and global challenges shape its future. In this guide, experts outline key strategies to ensure a successful review that preserves the agreement’s benefits whi...

An excellent two hour discussion organized by UNAM

Good discussion by Mexican and US experts on the big US-Mexico trade issues to be decided in the next year and a half.

In a talk and PowerPoint presentation, I discuss how Mexico and the US have serious challenges ahead to work through on many aspects of relations over the year ahead - border management, migrations, trade, crime, and many other issues.

The incoming Trump administration is poised to prioritize its immigration concerns with Mexico over trade issues, which could complicate the 2026 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico said on Friday.

During a Nov. 15 discussion hosted by the Wilson Center, Earl Anthony Wayne, the U.S. envoy to Mexico from 2011-2015, said immigration could overshadow trade ahead of the first USMCA review. Wayne is a public policy fellow at the Wilson Center and co-chairs an advisory board at the center’s Mexico Institute.

“Two things are going to come up before we ever get to trade negotiations. One is how migration is handled and two is related to how the border is handled.” Wayne said. “And President Trump has made clear that he would like clarity from Mexico on how they're going to handle both of these issues if they're going to get negotiations through.”

“And so here we're already seeing the [non-]trade issues being implicit for either additional tariffs being put on and/or slowing down bilateral trade negotiations,” Wayne added.

Trump earlier this month threatened to impose tariffs of 25 percent or higher on all goods from Mexico if the country does not take more aggressive action to crack down on immigration and the flow of drugs across the U.S. border. If applied to Mexico, the new duty -- as well as a proposed 10 percent blanket tariff on all U.S. imports -- could run afoul of the U.S.’ commitments under USMCA.

Mexico, though, is likely to cooperate with the Trump administration on immigration issues, Wayne argued.

“So, you know, before we get to trade, we’ve got really important work on how people move and how trade takes place across the border between the U.S. and Mexico,” Wayne said. “And then if we get that sorted out then we get to a number of trade issues.”

These issues would include past and ongoing trade irritants, such as disputes on automotive rules-of-origin and biotechnology as well as the U.S.’ concerns with Mexico’s energy policies, Wayne added.

A USMCA dispute settlement panel in late 2022 ruled against the U.S.’ position on automotive rules of origin. A separate panel is expected to issue a final ruling later this month on Mexican restrictions on genetically engineered corn. The U.S. in 2022 also requested USMCA consultations over several Mexican energy policies, though it has not yet escalated those concerns to the panel stage.

During the discussion on Friday, Karen Antebi, the international practice chair at Prime Policy Group, argued a second Trump administration would further blur the lines between trade policy and other issues, making the USMCA review “more painful” for Mexico. Antebi worked as an economic counselor at the Mexican embassy’s Trade and NAFTA Office during the North American Free Trade Agreement’s renegotiation.

“It is no secret the kind of personality that President-elect Trump has and what his view with regards to trade and with regards to Mexico and Mexico's role are,” she said. “The U.S.-Mexico relationship is already subject to significant tensions, and pardon the cliche, but there's no Chinese wall anymore separating the trade agenda from the rest of the bilateral [agenda,] so that's going to make the review a ... a little bit more painful for Mexico.”

Wayne also contended that discussions about China would be prominent during the USMCA review.

“China is another big issue that I think we are going to deal with,” he said. “Here we have the United States and Canada moving to[ward] an aligned position and we will see how much Mexico is going to line up on China,” he added, noting Mexico will likely seek alignment as well.

The U.S. will make a “strong push” for Mexico to define its relationship with Beijing and decide whether it’s going to be “part of North America and this agreement” or continue to support Chinese investments, Antebi said. Pressure on Mexico to limit its ties with China is likely be one of the few aspects of the USMCA review that could enjoy bipartisan support, she added.

USTR in July said Chinese investment into Mexico’s auto industry would be a major topic of discussion during the review. -- Jason Asenso (jasenso@iwpnews.com) U.S. Trade is a subscription-fee-based daily digital news service from Inside Washington Publishers.
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Inside U.S. Trade is a subscription-fee-based daily digital news service from Inside Washington Publishe...

US Election Special: Voices on Latin America An array of experts weigh in on how the US election could affect Latin America and the Caribbean – and why. by Rebecca Bill Chavez, Marcello Estevão, Arturo Porzecanski, Earl Anthony Wayne and Christopher da Cunha Bueno Garman October 21, 2024

© 2024 Latin American Financial Publications, Inc. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of LatinFinance https://latinfinance.com/magazine/2024/10/21/us-election-special-voices-on-latin-america/ .

Recently, the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training asking me to write up the experiment in “rock diplomacy” that we undertook in embassy Buenos Aires when I was Ambassador in 2007-2009. We drew upon the mutual love of “rock” (and other popular) music between Argentines and Americans to help build bonds and overcome deep anti-American sentiment in Argentina at that time.

We took advantage of the tremendous popularity of American music among Argentines, the willingness of visiting US musicians to partner with us to embrace local youth, and the bonding powers of music to help move beyond differences and open space for dialogue. Music became one important facilitating tool in work to achieve our embassy’s public diplomacy objectives, and I got a nickname as a “rock ambassador,” which Secretary Clinton used when swearing me in as ambassador to Mexico in 2011.

US-Mexico collaboration against drug smuggling hit a low point in 2019-20 and has improved with hard work from both sides since 2021. Cooperation should continue given the great suffering cross border crime causes for
Mexicans and Americans. Tensions surrounding the arrests of El Mayo and Joaquin Guzman Lopez remind us that US-Mexico trust and cooperation fall short of what is needed to produce consistent and meaningful progress
against the deadly problems of illicit cross border flows of drugs, arms and money.

US law enforcement and justice agencies face pressure to detain those charged with grave offenses, and Mexico’s government remains deeply sensitive to protecting its sovereignty. These and related issues, including
corruption, prevent the two governments from building the level of mutual trust that is needed for more effective intelligence sharing, operational planning, and coordination to bring criminals to justice.

Given the timing of the El Mayo’s arrest during Mexico’s presidential transition and the US election, both governments will likely work to manage
tensions and to maintain cooperation, but this is a clear reminder that collaboration against cross border criminal organizations needs to improve significantly for the interests of both countries.

Mexico’s incoming president Claudia Sheinbaum and her team worked well with US officials on public security when she was Mexico City’s mayor. Sheinbaum’s government plan highlights the need to improve coordination across agencies and calls for better intelligence gathering against crime. Hopefully this outlook will help improve cooperation, but much will depend on the outcome of the US election.