The review of International Regulatory Co-operation (IRC) in Mexico was carried out by the OECD Public Governance Directorate under the auspices of the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee using the regulatory policy review methodology developed over two decades of peer learning. It builds on the OECD 2012 Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance, which makes international regulatory co-operation (IRC) an integral part of quality regulation in today’s globalised context. The review further draws from the OECD body of work on IRC and specific country and sector case studies developed since 2012.

Globalisation has affected the everyday lives of citizens, businesses and countries worldwide. The technical revolutions of the past 30 years and the deepening of global production chains have amplified the integration of the world economy. As a result, the rapid flow of goods, services, people and finance across borders is testing the effectiveness and the capacity of domestic regulatory frameworks. Both the quality of new regulatory measures and their effective enforcement are under strain.

Recent developments highlighted in (OECD, 2017[1]) show Mexico as a reform frontrunner. Mexico has put together the most ambitious reform package of any OECD country in recent times through the unprecedented Pacto por México. These structural reforms have spanned a wide range of sectors and policy areas. They have been important steps forward, but still have to translate into tangible outcomes. Looking ahead, Mexico needs to ensure that the country can reap the benefits from these unprecedented reform efforts. This will involve effective reform implementation and great conjunction / alignment across reform efforts.

Mexico’s active efforts to embrace globalisation are reflected in many aspects of its domestic policies, practices and institutions. It has introduced international considerations into its domestic rule-making procedures and uses a variety of ways to co‑operate internationally. This chapter sets the legal and institutional context in which international regulatory co-operation (IRC) takes place in Mexico. To do so, it gives an overview of Mexico’s regulatory actors and instruments, describes the regulatory instruments subject to IRC, the main legislative and policy documents that encourage or require IRC, and the institutions that are involved in co-ordinating and overseeing IRC efforts in Mexico.

Countries may take unilateral steps to avoid regulatory divergences, notably in their domestic rule-making procedure. This is a foundational step towards regulatory quality and coherence and one that is likely to facilitate the development of more ambitious international regulatory co-operation (IRC) approaches. This chapter identifies the various avenues through which international considerations have been embedded into domestic rule-making, either through considering foreign and international standards in domestic rule-making, assessing international impacts in the RIA procedures, or engaging foreign stakeholders on regulatory developments.

In a largely globalised and highly integrated world economy, co-ordination between countries on regulatory matters is essential to tackle the challenges that cross borders and achieve a coherent and effective regulatory response at least costs for business and citizens. International regulatory co-operation (IRC) provides the opportunity for countries to develop common regulatory positions and instruments with their peers. This chapter gives an overview of Mexico’s efforts to co-operate internationally on regulatory matters, be it bilaterally, regionally or multilaterally. It highlights the regulatory co‑operation efforts that have resulted from high economic incentives, often with high‑level political traction as is the case with the High Level Regulatory Cooperation Council, trade agreements, or mutual recognition approaches. The chapter also acknowledges the numerous co-operation efforts undertaken in a variety of different sectors by line ministries and regulators. Often in the form of voluntary Memoranda of Understanding or participation in various different types of international bodies, information about these efforts tends to be more fragmented.