the.com/maquiladoras
factories that live on the border so tariffs don't have to.
means foreign-owned factories in mexico that import materials duty-free, assemble them cheaply, then export the finished goods, mostly to the us.
from from spanish maquilar, meaning to mill grain for a portion of the flour as payment — the miller's cut became the model for assembling someone else's product for a fee.
program startlaunched 1965 after the bracero labor program ended
peak employmentover 1.3 million workers by the 2000s
typical goodselectronics, cars, clothing, medical devices
nafta effectusmca kept the tariff loophole largely intact