The U.S. content in Mexican exports is the highest among all of the United States‘ major trading partners.
This productive impact on the United States was highlighted in a report by the National Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry (Index).
U.S. content in Mexican exports
No trading partner integrates more U.S. content into its exports than Mexico. What is the level? Forty percent of Mexican exports to the United States are intermediate goods that are directly incorporated into U.S. manufacturing.
According to Index, in the automotive industry, a vehicle produced in Mexico contains on average 38% of auto parts of U.S. origin, well above the content in European or Asian cars.
In 2025, the United States exported $16.7 billion in auto parts to Mexico, a figure eight times higher than equivalent exports to Japan or Germany.
Industrial policy
The sectors where Mexico is the main supplier—steel, aluminum, chemicals, and electronics—coincide with key industries for U.S. industrial policy. Therefore, integration with Mexico and Canada is strategic.
This trade network supports more than 13 million jobs in the United States. It also strengthens economic security by reducing dependence on critical external inputs.
Importing from Mexico does not replace U.S. production. On the contrary, it complements it. Thanks to the high regional content, every dollar exported by Mexico generates new demand for inputs, machinery, and equipment manufactured in the United States. Thus, the industrial base is strengthened.
This is the context in which the Index operates. The civil association, created in 1973, represents nearly 1,500 companies in the IMMEX program, out of a total of 6,400 in the country. Its objective is to promote Mexican exports.
Through IMMEX, exporting companies can temporarily import goods without paying general import taxes. In certain cases, they are also exempt from anti-dumping or countervailing duties. These inputs are used exclusively in the production of goods destined for export.