Baja California’s maquiladora industry accounts for almost 30 percent of the country’s export manufacturing industry with more than 900 plants, generating approximately 258,000 jobs. Baja California has a population of 3.5 million and an annual population growth rate of 4.34 percent, with the largest concentration in Tijuana and Mexicali, with 47 and 33 percent of the population respectively.

    It is a hardworking industrial region with more than 40 years of experience in international production-sharing activities. According to the state’s Economic Development Office, the state is home to 70 percent of all Asian investment in Mexico, mostly in electronics, where manufacturing reached more than 20 million television sets and computer monitors in 2006 (latest figures available).

    According to Mexican Customs, in 2006 the import market for the maquiladora industry in Baja California exceeded $21 billion, of which more than 40 percent was destined for electronics manufacturing, followed by automotive and medical.

    From 2001 to 2004, several factors negatively impacted the industry, causing the closure and relocation of more than 200 plants to countries with lower operating costs. From 2005 to present, the maquiladora industry entered into a new stage of recovery to levels prior 2001, with new investment in expansion and new technology applied to manufacturing, generating significant opportunities for U.S. suppliers.

    The most promising sectors include: electric machinery, equipment and parts (HTS Chapter 85); plastic and articles of plastic (HTS Chapter 39); machinery (HTS Chapter 84); articles of iron or steel (HTS Chapter 73); paper and paperboard; and articles of paper pulp (HTS Chapter 48)...

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