With the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House, the automotive industry in Mexico, the main engine of the Mexican economy, will receive the support of the new government of President Claudia Sheinbaum to strengthen the value chains and work together on the next review of the USMCA, reported the Ministry of Economy.
The head of the Ministry of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, and other federal executives met in Mexico City with the main executives of vehicle assembly companies such as Harald Gottsche of BMW Mexico; of Ford Motor Company, Lucien Pinto; of General Motors Mexico, Francisco Garza; of Mazda Mexico, Miguel Barbeyto; of Mercedes Benz Mexico, Stefan Albrecht and of Stellantis Mexico, Carlos Quezada.
The automotive industry in Mexico, considering the exports of light vehicles, heavy vehicles and auto parts, is the main engine of the Mexican economy by contributing a third of the country's total exports.
The automotive industry in Mexico is the most vulnerable with the second term of the now elected president of the United States, Donald Trump. Prior to his first term (2017-2021) he threatened American automakers that invested in Mexico and in 2017 Ford Motor cancelled an investment of $1.6 billion to build a new plant in the central state of San Luis Potosí.
For Trump's new presidential term, which begins on January 20, he has also threatened to impose new trade tariffs on the export of vehicles manufactured in Mexico. For this reason, the Ministry of Economy met with companies in the sector and with its business chamber: the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA).
International trade data, reviewed by SteelOrbis, show that before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established a free-trade zone in North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States), in 1993 the automotive industry in Mexico contributed 19 percent of total Mexican exports.
Currently, with the USMCA, the automotive industry contributes 32 percent of total Mexican exports. In that period 1993-2024, automotive exports increased 808 percent or 7.4 percent average annually, higher than the 455 percent or 5.7 percent average annual total exports.