![French engine maker Safran has a factory in Mexico, as do many U.S. aerospace firms. But for American companies, a new 20 percent tariff on manufactured goods shipped north into the U.S. could be damaging to the viability of their supply chains. [Photo: Safran]](https://www.ainonline.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=3840,format=webp,quality=95/https://backend.ainonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/fpsc_1200x630/public/uploads/safranmexico_web.jpg?h=4997dc06&itok=gDFifWsj)
Some two dozen major aerospace and defense companies now have significant manufacturing operations in Mexico, and more than half of these are U.S.-based corporations. One has to wonder that when they decided on these long-term investments—in most cases, a decade or more ago—whether any of them contemplated the prospect of a U.S. President winning an election with promises to make it unsustainable for American manufacturers to build products in Mexico.
That is exactly what came to pass with the election of President Donald Trump, who, as his 100th day in office passed on Saturday, still had not delivered on his pledge to introduce a 20 percent tariff on manufactured goods imported into the U.S. from Mexico. The controversial tariff is partly intended to deter U.S. firms from setting up shop south of the Rio Grande and partly to find a way to compel the Mexican government to finance the construction of a wall along the entire length of the 2,000-mile border between the two countries.
Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.
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