WEDC plans trip to Mexico

Kleefisch to lead trade mission in June

The timing may seem less than ideal, but the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. will lead a trade mission to Mexico in June.

Tensions with the country have risen over President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border at a cost that could top $20 billion.

But Mark Maley, a spokesman for the WEDC, said that is unlikely to affect the trade mission.

“We are going about business as usual,” Maley said. “No one really knows what the future will bring.”

Mexico is Wisconsin’s secondlargest trading partner after Canada, and the WEDC puts together a trade mission to the country each year. It expects to have about a half-dozen companies on the trip planned for June 11-16. The mission will be led by Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

The fee for participating companies, which is subsidized by the state, is $1,650 and includes arranging one-on-one appointments, transportation in the country, hotels, interpreter fees and some meals. WEDC estimates the full cost per company will be about $8,500.

WEDC typically does four to eight trade trips a year, and each involves a fair amount of planning.

The trips rarely lead to immediate sales, but are considered a start.

“Part of this is building relationships,” Maley said.

Among the companies that participated in the 2016 trip to Mexico were SpeeDee Packaging, which makes food and beverage packaging equipment; Rolled Threads, which makes precision threaded steel bars for machinery and industrial applications; and Gaskets Inc., which makes seals for industrial ovens.

Wisconsin exports to Mexico surpassed $3 billion in 2016, according to WEDC. The state had a trade surplus with the country of $297 million in 2016, the third straight year the surplus was above $270 million.

Wisconsin companies that export to Mexico include Briggs & Stratton, Actuant, Marine Travelift, Shuttlelift, Miller Electric, Badger Meter, A.O. Smith, Harley-Davidson, Sensient, Snap-On Tools and Vollrath.