Zero hour is approaching. On November 5th, it will be decided who will govern for the next four years in the United States, Mexico’s main trading partner.
This is a turning point for the southern neighbor as candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have opposing views on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Harris supports a review of the treaty with a view to optimizing its form rather than its substance, while Trump is in favor of renegotiation .
While the coin is in the air and considering the importance that the automotive industry represents for the North American region, this year the T-MEC Seal initiative emerged, promoted by the National Agency of Automotive Sector Suppliers (Anapsa) , which seeks to support compliance with the regional content value , which offers legal certainty not only to companies, but to the governments of the three countries.
To date, more than 320 companies involved in the automotive industry value chain, both domestic and American, already have the T-MEC Seal. Likewise, there are a good number of companies that are waiting for the review of the requirements to join and not only receive the seal, but also become part of the Registry of Trustworthy Companies in the North American Automotive Sector, which is shared with Tier 1 companies in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
Being part of the registry also enables preferential treatment at Mexican customs and at the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP); another advantage is that the T-MEC Seal coexists perfectly with the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) and Authorized Economic Operator (AEO).
The acceptance and advantages that the T-MEC Seal provides to companies has stimulated other sectors to show interest in this process , such as the steel, aluminum, plastics, molds and machinery industries.
“One of the concerns of the United States government is precisely the investments in Mexico by Chinese companies and in this sense what the seal does is give them certainty that the regional content values are from North America,” said Alberto Bustamante, general director of Anapsa, in an interview with T21.
In this regard, Bustamante explained that the T-MEC Seal is intended to be part of the proposals put on the table in the review of the treaty in the three countries, for which it will be presented to the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) .
It should be noted that to date, 50% of the companies that have approached Anapsa to obtain the T-MEC Seal do not comply with the regional content value . Bustamante explained that the agency is responsible for advising companies to comply with all the requirements.
“Since the entry into force of the USMCA, the raw materials that were imported from Korea and China began to be replaced, for example, steel. Today, the cost has been leveled and steel from the region has already begun to be consumed. However, what has not changed, at least until now, are the chips and some electronic components that we continue to import from Asia. However, even with this, we manage to meet the 75% regional content value requirement,” said the general director of Anapsa .
The medium-term goal is for these elements to be manufactured in the North American region.
