U.S. Auto Tariffs Will Hit Mexico Hard

Investing.com - The Trump administration has yet to decide whether it will impose steep tariffs on the import of autos and auto parts, but it is already clear that Mexico would be among the hardest hit economies. Mexico is now the fourth largest exporter of autos, an industry that accounted for 2.9% of the country's gross domestic product in the first quarter of this year,Eight global automakers have a total of 19 plants there, producing vehicles and parts. U.S. automakers -- General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Fiat Chrysler -- operate 10 of them.In 2017, autos and auto parts accounted for 24.6% of the $314 million in goods that Mexico exported to the U,S. Mexico produced a record 3.8 million cars and light trucks last year. More than 2.3 million of them went to the U.S.Almost 14% of the autos sold in the U.S. in 2017 were assembled in Mexico. And that includes some of the most popular models, such as the GM Silverado and Chrysler Ram.