Governor Brown to Lead Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico

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SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that he will lead a Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico during the last week of July 2014 to strengthen ties with California’s neighbor and largest export market.

“Reducing our oil consumption, two-thirds of which is imported by ships and tank cars, will take time, breakthrough technologies and steadfast commitment. It will also require that the countries which burn the most fossil fuel join with us,” Governor Brown said in his 2014 State of the State address. “We’ve started building those partnerships with other states and countries like China. We will go to Mexico next. California can’t do this alone.”

Governor Brown will be joined by a diverse delegation of California government, business, economic development, investment and policy leaders on the Mission, which will be organized by the California Chamber of Commerce. The Mission will focus on boosting direct investment in the state, expanding bilateral economic and environmental cooperation and connecting California businesses with new opportunities and partnerships.

The Governor first announced the Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico in his 2014 State of the State address and met last month with Mexican Consuls General from cities across California.

Last April, Governor Brown led a Trade and Investment Mission to China, where he met with a number of local and national government leaders including China’s Premier, opened the California-China Office of Trade and Investment in Shanghai and signed the first economic and environmental agreements ever between a subnational entity and Chinese Ministries. Following the trip to China, the Governor met with China’s President Xi Jinping in California and signed a first-of-its-kind agreement on climate change between the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and a subnational entity.

Over the past year, Governor Brown has also signed accords with other governors and leaders from Canada, Israel and Peru to combat climate change, strengthen California’s economic ties throughout the world and cooperate on promising research. In February, Governor Brown established the California International Trade and Investment Advisory Council to help expand international business opportunities for California companies, and appointed former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Eleni Kounalakis as chair.

Additional details on the Trade and Investment Mission to Mexico and a full itinerary will be released in the coming weeks.

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