Phoenix welcomes Mexico delegation ahead of US–Mexico semiconductor forum
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Summary
City and visiting Mexican officials and industry groups highlighted TSMC's planned $165 billion investment, Phoenix–Mexico trade ties and the role of binational supply chains ahead of a US–Mexico semiconductor collaboration forum.
Juan Batres, with the City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department, opened a welcome reception Monday evening for a visiting Mexican delegation ahead of the US–Mexico Semiconductor Collaboration Forum, which city officials said will take place the following day near the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
"Bienvenidos," Mayor Kate Gallego said in a prerecorded message to attendees, noting that "Mexico is Arizona's number 1 trade and tourism market" and that trade between Arizona and Mexico "exceeded $20,000,000,000." Gallego highlighted Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's announced $165,000,000,000 investment in Phoenix as central to the region's role in advanced manufacturing.
Vice Mayor Anne O'Brien, whose council district includes the TSMC site, said the company's investment is transforming the area and stressed the importance of cross‑border partnerships to support semiconductor supply chains. "This ecosystem cannot reach its full potential without Mexico," she said, adding that the city's Phoenix–Mexico trade office in Hermosillo is intended to strengthen those ties and create jobs on both sides of the border.
Representatives of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) and Mexican economic ministries also spoke. Nina Contra, senior vice president at BCIU, called the forum a continuation of a multi‑year effort, saying the meeting marks "the fourth chapter in this series and the first held in the U.S. soil." Diego Flores, head of the electronics and digital industry sector at Mexico's Secretariat of Economy, said Mexico is "ready to become that trusted partner, that trusted ally" in regional semiconductor development.
Alfredo Pacheco, introduced as an executive vice president and chief executive officer who helped convene public and private sector partners, thanked organizers and said the timing is right for a coordinated regional effort.
Speakers identified three immediate themes for the forum: technical and policy coordination, investment strategies, and workforce and supply‑chain links between Phoenix and Mexican states including Jalisco, Nuevo León, Chihuahua and Baja California. No votes or formal actions were taken at the reception, which organizers described as a chance to prepare for detailed discussions at the forum.
Organizers and speakers repeatedly framed the effort as building a North American semiconductor corridor to support advanced vehicles, climate technology and other industries that depend on microchips. The forum was described as a venue for deeper discussion of technical details and investment frameworks to follow the welcome event.
The reception was hosted by the City of Phoenix in partnership with BCIU; speakers invited attendees to the forum the next day for deeper technical and policy sessions.