Maquiladora Growth Slows in Mexico

Mexico's assembly-for-export industry, which created thousands of jobs and boosted the standard of living along the U.S. border for decades, has stalled and Mexico has no one to blame but itself, says the head of the country's maquiladora association.

Some say it's the paperwork that is slowing the industry. Starting up a plant in Mexico requires filling out 3,000 government forms, compared with just 22 in China. Once in business, a company must also quickly adjust to last-minute provisions, such as a salary tax passed in the wee hours of January 1, 2002 that took effect the same month. Gee, and you thought your state was bad in terms of business paperwork.

The maquiladora sector, which accounts for about 45 percent of Mexican exports, has lost hundreds of plants and more than 250,000 jobs in the past two years. At this point, industry leaders would be content to maintain the roughly 1.1 million jobs that remain in the sector.

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