La Jornada: Upcoming T-MEC meetings, key for the automotive sector

The next rounds of T-MEC negotiations will be crucial to mitigate the uncertainty facing the Mexican automotive industry, Monex analysts considered.

According to an analysis, the country’s main manufacturing sector will continue to focus on the review of the trade pact, which has entered a phase of annual reviews, as well as on the progress of bilateral negotiations between Mexico and the United States.

“The next rounds of negotiations will be decisive in reducing the uncertainty faced by the industry and defining the environment under which supply chains and new investments will continue to operate in the coming years,” the document states.

Analysts commented that despite the dialogue between both parties to strengthen the productive integration of North America, relevant issues for this industry persist, such as the United States’ approach to raising the regional content required for vehicle production from 75 to 82 percent, and requiring that at least 50 percentage points of the value of vehicles produced in North America be manufactured in US territory to access preferential tariff treatment.

Analysts reported that official data show that at the end of the first half of 2026, the Mexican automotive industry showed a mixed performance.

First, domestic sales grew 7.7 percent in June at an annual rate, reaching a historical maximum for a similar period, driven by a greater supply of vehicles and the growing participation of Asian brands.

However, the production of light vehicles observed a decrease of 1.9 percent compared to the sixth month of 2025. Likewise, exports lost dynamism, as they slowed down 9.2 percent annually in June compared to the same month last year.

In turn, the heavy vehicle industry faces a more complex outlook, with drops of 13.0 percent in production in the first half and 14.5 percent in exports.

They pointed out that, overall, the strength of the domestic market in the automotive sector partially offsets the lower momentum in external demand.