NPR

Will NAFTA 2.0 Really Boost Mexican Wages?

The new trade deal signed by the U.S., Mexico and Canada says much of a car should be built by workers making at least $16 an hour. Some experts are skeptical that will happen anytime soon in Mexico.
Employees work on the assembly line of the Tiguan model at the Volkswagen car plant in Puebla, central Mexico, in March. The auto sector is a key focus of the newly revised North American free trade agreement.

NAFTA is no more. The North American Free Trade Agreement has a new name — the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA — and its rules have been updated and revamped.

For Mexico, there's one rule in particular that gives workers hope higher wages are coming.

It says that 40 percent of a car must be made in a plant where workers make at least $16 an hour in order to avoid U.S. import tariffs. That would mean a fivefold boost to the average Mexican autoworker's wage of $3.14 an hour.

But while that looks good on paper, some experts are skeptical that it will

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