Film-Video Producers Lead U.S. Carnets to Mexico

Barrington, IL - - Four months since Mexico's addition into the ATA Carnet system, U.S. film and video producers are the leading beneficiaries of Mexico's participation. Mexico began accepting carnets on May 16th into a select number of Mexican ports. The next most popular use for the carnet export document from the U.S. to Mexico is for training, testing and demonstration purposes.

"Producers and photographers seem to be the most aware of Mexico's addition to the system and they are eager to use the carnet to Mexico. We are hoping the port of Cabo San Lucas is added eventually as that will make logistics simpler for some producers who use that port regularly," stated Jackie Dalgleish, ATA Carnet Specialist. Efforts are underway to request that Mexico approve Cabo San Lucas as an approved ATA Carnet port.

Educational and promotional programs about carnets to Mexico are active in the U.S. with Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, U.S. Export Assistance Centers and other international trade organizations. As this information gets more widespread we expect to see the the percentage of carnets for production to get smaller. In the meantime, expect to see lots of Mexican travel, food and lifestyle in the media.