T-MEC en el espejo del TLCAN: Engañosas ilusiones, brutales realidades

Abstract

<p>Se analiza fundamental el desempeño del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, así como sus diferencias y convergencias con el Tratado México, Estados Unidos y Canadá de manera destacada en la industria automotriz y el efecto que se ha expresado en el mundo del trabajo en México.</p><p> </p><div><p> </p></div>

Contorting transformations: Uneven impacts of the U.S.–Mexico automotive industrial complex

“…However, four decades have passed since the initiation of the regional North American auto industrial complex, and economic disparities between the United States and Mexico are perhaps more evident than before (Cypher and Crossa, 2019), confirming what had been stated as early as 1991 (Cypher, 1992). Such tendencies have become evident through the growth of generalized labour market precarity, in the United States and particularly in Mexico – where ‘labour dumping’ (or social dumping) has facilitated the boom of the ‘near-shored’ auto industry (Valdenebro, 2020).…”

“…As a result of a combination of economic and trade policies, and concurrent transformations in the industrial geography of the automotive industry across both the U.S. and Mexico, Mexico has been transformed into a maquiladora economy, dependent on, and subordinate to the United States. This is likely to be intensified with the implementation of the USMCA (Cypher and Crossa, 2019). As argued previously, this agreement is designed to deepen regional protectionism, in particular protecting U.S. corporations from intensifying international competition, especially in the context of anticipated technological transformations in the automotive industry due to the electrification of vehicles.…”

“…3The recent approval of the USMCA is a severe blow to non-U.S. auto companies that have established their assembly operations in Mexico, and who do not have production linkages in the United States. Forty percent of the content of vehicles will have to be produced in the U.S. or Canada, which will force the firms that have the bulk of their operations in Mexico to transfer the highest value-added parts of production to the U.S. (Cypher and Crossa, 2019). …”

The New Triangular Relationship between the US, China, and Latin America: The Case of Trade in the Autoparts-Automobile Global Value Chain (2000–2019)

“…These recent trends based on the main segments of the AAGVC also allows for much more detailed analysis of the respective hundreds of products and processes of the AAGVC. The issue of the rules of origin within NAFTA and USMCA, which has been largely discussed (Cypher and Crossa, 2019; Dussel Peters, 2000; Vega Cánovas and Campos Ortiz, 2020) appears under a new light: while it is true that the rules of origin matter – in 2017 total US imports of AAGVC paid a tariff rate of 0.92 per cent and doubled in 2019 – they are still minor compared to other costs of the AAGVC such as labour, energy, transportation costs, supplies, and so on. Nevertheless – and considering the recent “trade war” – in 2019, the tariff rate of US imports from China registered 6.58 per cent and 16.66 per cent (vis-à-vis tariff rates close to zero for Mexico); that is, while the general argument of the rules of origin as an important cause for protectionism and against Asia might be questioned, a detailed product-level analysis will provide arguments for the relevance of the rules of origin of NAFTA/USMCA in the future and particularly against China.…”