ARIZONA & MEXICO

THE MAQUILADORA/IMMEX SECTOR – A KEY DRIVER OF
ARIZONA’S MANUFACTURING EXPORTS TO MEXICO
By Vera Pavlakovich-Kochi
The Mexican IMMEX sector, which includes maquiladoras, is an important market for Arizona’s
exports of goods and services.
Arizona’s closest neighbor, Sonora, has about 163,000 employees in the IMMEX sector, of which
70 percent are in manufacturing.
The automotive industry centered around Ford Motor Company in Hermosillo became not
only one of Sonora’s manufacturing pillars, but also one of Mexico’s leading automotive
industry’s production centers.
Emerging aerospace sector in the Empalme-Guaymas area strengthens the Arizona-Sonora
transborder aerospace industry cluster.
There are untapped opportunities for Arizona’s companies to expand trade relationships with
the IMMEX sector.
INTRODUCTION
Maquiladoras are Mexican production facilities mostly located along the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexico’s
Maquiladora Program was initiated in mid-1960s as an assembly platform for U.S. manufacturing
companies within special trade provisions under which U.S.-made components were imported duty-free
in Mexico, and after being assembled with less expensive labor, were exported back to the U.S., duty-free
(Figure 1).
Figure 1: A Basic Model of Maquiladora -- Parent Company Relationship
Source: Tijuana EDC
APRIL 2016 • ARIZONA TOWN HALL • ARIZONA & MEXICO • 40