Abstract
The automotive industry is the emblematic symbol of the North American economic integration process. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has established the necessary institutional foundations for the development of a highly competitive automotive industry, supported by a network of value chains adequately aligned with the comparative advantages profile of the three partner countries. The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), for its part, introduces a new integrative logic characterized by a strategic dimension toward foreign manufacturers, a proAmerican retreat on manufacturing that echoes President Trump's protectionist rhetoric throughout the negotiations. The first section provides an historical picture of automobile manufacturing and discusses the determinants that have made the industry so critical to North American economic growth. The second section aims to define the changes between NAFTA and USMCA, pointing to the gradual implementation of regional mercantilism within the automotive sector.
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The concept of traceability remains central to rules of origin as the process of evaluating regional content. The tracing list, on the other hand, refers to a NAFTA measure that does not appear in the USMCA.
- 2.
Interview with the authors, Mexico City, March 2019.
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Arès, M., Bernard, C. (2022). Make America Great Again: A New Auto Pact for the North American Car Industry?. In: Gagné, G., Rioux, M. (eds) NAFTA 2.0. Canada and International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81694-0_5
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