Auto suppliers stuck in Mexico, foiling Trump's US job push

Pandemic traps Japanese companies as new NAFTA tariffs loom

20200904N USMCA train

U.S. freight rail operators, such as Kansas City Southern, cross the U.S.-Mexico to connect production sites. (Photo courtesy of the Colorado Farm Bureau)

RYO ASAYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japanese auto parts suppliers looking to avoid tariff hikes from the new North American trade deal by moving some production to the U.S. from Mexico have been forced to slam the brakes on relocation efforts because of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. President Donald Trump had touted the trade deal as job producer for the U.S., but the pandemic and cost-benefits analyses on the part of companies has not created a rush up north.

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