Given the entry into force of the Mexico, United States and Canada Treaty (T-MEC) in June 2020, the automotive industry must adjust to the rules of origin established in this trade agreement, among which is that the aluminum with which its cars are made, it must be 75 percent of North American origin.
Although, compliance with these requirements establishes a challenge for the automotive sector to continue attracting foreign investment to the country, it also represents an opportunity for which it is necessary to establish a robust program with the aim of boosting the national aluminum and steel industries. to generate the inputs that this strategic sector currently requires.
“An economic policy must be established that considers the financial environment that allows generating these resources. It will be necessary to adopt technology and have agreements with both automotive companies and suppliers of inputs to be able to generate a great program that guarantees the possibility that Mexico will have the production of the inputs that it seeks to reduce from East Asia ”, says José Luis de la Cruz Gallegos, general director of the Institute for Industrial Development and Economic Growth (IDIC).
The companies of the automotive industry recently asked the federal government to extend the deadline for compliance with these new requirements, arguing that the economic impact that caused the stoppage of activities during the second quarter of 2020 was due to the measures established to try to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented companies from focusing on complying with the provisions of the T-MEC.