KOTRA Opens Monterrey Trade Center in Mexico...Supply Chain Cooperation for Korean Companies in North America

Second Trade Center in Mexico After Mexico City, 131st Worldwide
Nearshoring Base Amid North American Supply Chain Reorganization
Korea's No. 1 Trading Partner in Latin America, Logistics and Trade Hub

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) is opening a new trade center in Mexico, a key strategic hub for entering the North American market.

KOTRA announced that on the 12th (local time), it held an opening ceremony for its 131st trade center in Monterrey, the third-largest city in Mexico.

Monterrey is KOTRA's second trade center in Mexico after Mexico City and its 13th overseas office in Latin America. The opening ceremony was attended by KOTRA President Kang Kyungsung, the Secretary of Economy of the State of Nuevo Leon Rocha, the Head of the Northeastern Chapter of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (COMCE) Sendejas, Acting Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Mexico Lee Sanghee, representatives of Korean companies operating in the region, and around 100 participants from both sides, who discussed avenues for cooperation.

Monterrey is the manufacturing hub of Latin America and a key nearshoring base arising from the reorganization of North American supply chains. KOTRA stated that the opening of this new trade center will significantly improve accessibility for Korean companies operating in the region. Nearshoring refers to a strategy in which companies locate their production and service functions in neighboring countries, and Mexico has been drawing attention as a forward base for North American nearshoring.

Mexico is Korea's largest trading partner in Latin America, with bilateral trade amounting to approximately 20.5 billion dollars as of 2025, and it is a core economic cooperation partner where more than 500 Korean companies are operating. Among Mexican cities, Monterrey is the third-largest and the largest industrial center in the north, hosting production bases for global conglomerates in automobiles, home appliances, electronics, and steel. It also serves as a logistics and trade hub connecting the two major markets of North America and Latin America.

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) building exterior. KOTRA.

In particular, Monterrey functions as a supply chain base for leveraging the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which links North America and Latin America. Located only 246 km from the border of the U.S. state of Texas, it is considered an optimal location for responding to rapidly changing trade conditions and the reorganization of global supply chains. Around 300 Korean companies, including LG Electronics, Kia, and Hyundai Mobis, have already established operations there. Last year, Korea ranked fourth in terms of investment volume in the State of Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey is located.

With the opening of the Monterrey Trade Center, KOTRA plans to strengthen its ability to respond to changes in the trade environment and to support Korean companies in seizing nearshoring opportunities. It will support supply chain cooperation, investment, and recruitment between Korean and Mexican companies in the automobile and auto parts, electric vehicle, and battery industries. In addition, KOTRA intends to actively work on resolving trade barriers, including tariffs related to Mexico and the USMCA.

On the day of the opening ceremony, KOTRA also signed a business agreement with the Northeastern Chapter of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade (COMCE Noreste). The two sides will expand cooperation, including information sharing, to help Korean companies discover new export opportunities in the Mexican market, and will accelerate efforts to generate tangible results such as connecting business partners between the two countries through the "International Foreign Trade Forum," which is the Northeastern Chapter's top priority project this year.

KOTRA President Kang Kyungsung said, "Monterrey, the heart of Mexico's manufacturing industry, is growing in importance as a supply chain hub targeting the North American market," adding, "Leveraging the opening of this trade center, KOTRA will serve as a solid stepping stone to help Korean companies pioneer emerging markets and secure a bridgehead in the supply chains spanning North, Central, and South America."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.