Latin American Auto Industry

Mexico-based automobile plants are worried by the surge in Chinese imports. In the first four months of this year 19.1% of all cars sold in Mexico were imported from China. Jorge Guajardo, a consultant for DGA Group and former Mexican ambassador to China, says current Mexican regulations, which permit companies with assembly plants in Mexico to import full vehicles and auto-parts duty free, are being abused as a back door route to bring in Chinese-made vehicles. He says this loophole could be closed with an “aggressive” 70% automobile import tariff. Guajardo argues that Chinese cars are an example of unfair competition since the manufacturing process is heavily subsidised by the Beijing government.