Latest news with #American-branded
Mint
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Made-in-China Chevys for $17,000 Are Winning Fans in Mexico
Uber driver Patricia Gatica looked no further than her nearby Chevrolet dealership for a new car. The mustard yellow Chevy Aveo she chose is small enough to squeeze through the congested streets of Mexico City and it gets a very respectable 48 miles per gallon. Best of all, with a price tag of about $17,000, the General Motors Co. subcompact is very, very affordable. The secret: The American-branded car sold in Mexico is actually made in China, where cheaper labor and component costs allow companies to churn out less expensive cars. 'When I saw it on the street, I immediately fell in love with it,' said Gatica, 27. 'It doesn't have a big trunk, but it's very sporty, which I like.' Right now, her Chinese-made car is only available outside of the US. But with prices starting below $18,000, the Aveo and similar Chevy Onix subcompact sedans show how much cheaper cars can be in a market that welcomes vehicles built in China. In the US, the average new car price has soared to almost $49,000, compared with about $32,000 in Mexico, according to the country's automotive dealers association, AMDA. GM's lowest-cost car in the US, the Chevy Trax, starts at around $5,000 more than an Aveo sold in Mexico — and that's for a bare bones version; It typically sells for thousands of dollars more with popular options like heated seats and remote ignition. About 65% of GM's sales in Mexico are brought in from China, totaling some 60,942 vehicles in the first half of the year, according to Mexican national statistics bureau Inegi. Overall, Chinese car imports by all brands made up almost one-fifth of total new car sales in Mexico last year, outpacing shipments from the US, Brazil, India and Japan. The number is probably even higher as some Chinese brands like BYD Co., Geely Automotive Holdings and Guangzhou Automobile Group don't report their data to Inegi. Mexico became the biggest destination for Chinese cars in the world in the first four months of the year, having overtaken Russia, according to the China Passenger Car Association. 'The Chinese automotive industry has a production capacity on a scale superior to that of competitors in other regions, and this gives them a competitive advantage,' said Guillermo Rosales, president of auto association AMDA. Mexico's policy of welcoming Chinese cars has helped drive down prices, he noted. The Aveo was sold in the US from 2004 until 2011, debuting as a budget model made in South Korea by onetime partner Daewoo. GM replaced it with the US-made Chevy Sonic, but that was phased out in 2020. Other subcompacts faced similar fates due to waning demand from American buyers and cheap gas prices. Toyota stopped sales of its Yaris and Honda discontinued the Fit. That happened just as US sticker prices began to creep steadily higher with the onset of the pandemic, constrained vehicle production and inflationary pressures. Since then, average transaction prices for new cars have increased by nearly 23%, according to Kelley Blue Book data. Meanwhile, GM rebooted the Aveo nameplate in Mexico a few years ago, re-badging a vehicle made in a joint venture with Chinese local partners Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. and Wuling Motors Holding. Shrinking profit margins, price wars and overcapacity in China led GM to send more of its production to other markets like Mexico, helping to grow sales and play into Beijing's broader export push. The carmaker's sales of China-made vehicles in Mexico have accelerated over the past eight years. Between 2016 and 2024, they grew nearly 200 times. That resulted in part from a $5 billion investment in 2015 with its state-owned partner SAIC, which was used to create a family of compact models used to boost sales in China and other markets like says it offers vehicles based on customer preferences and conditions that are sourced from multiple locations, including the US and China.'Our comprehensive portfolio in Mexico provides choices across different segments and price points to respond to different customer needs and lifestyles,' the company said in an emailed statement. A global automaker like GM has a tricky balance among its various operations in China, Mexico and the US. The Detroit-based car manufacturer wants to stay on good terms with Beijing by keeping factories there humming and fully employed — even if it means relying on exports to do so. A separate, domestic market-focused joint venture with SAIC is up for renewal next year and its fate has yet to be decided. If the partnership changes or is discontinued, that could leave the export-oriented partnership as the anchor of GM's China strategy. For years, GM has imported a Chinese-made Buick model to the US called the Envision. A handful of other Chinese-made cars are still sold in the US — mostly luxury SUV models like Ford's Lincoln Nautilus and Volvo's S90. But the environment for imports from China has grown harsher in recent years. Former President Joe Biden added a 100% duty on Chinese EVs and banned most cars with software developed in China. And in his second term, Trump has threatened to hike tariffs on Chinese imports to as high as 145%. At the same time, Mexico is under pressure from US policymakers and some members of Mexico's auto industry to raise barriers to its own Chinese vehicle imports, which already face tariffs of as much as 20%. Some want to see that increased, possibly as part of an ongoing review of a North American trade pact known as USMCA. Amid the trade policy uncertainty, Mexican retail conglomerate Liverpool Mexico SA de CV canceled its distribution contract with BYD in June after selling a little under 10% of its volume in Mexico last year. Liverpool representative Nidia Ivana Garrido Mota said the company plans to 'continue focusing on our main business areas' and will not replace BYD with another car brand. Some aren't concerned Chinese cars will lose their foothold in the country. They note companies like BYD have competitive offers and financing, blunting the impact of tariffs. 'The Chinese vehicles that have arrived are here to stay,' said César Fragozo, executive vice-president of the China Chamber in Mexico. GM Dealers in Mexico say the Aveo is one of their most popular models, balancing out vehicles at the other end of the price spectrum like the $106,000 Chevy Suburban SUV. 'The Aveo is a very sporty and popular car, people tend to be surprised by how affordable it is,' said Guillermina González, a sales representative at a showroom in Mexico City. 'So as long as the car is made by GM, there is no concern about where it comes from.' GM's strong reputation in Mexico transcends concerns about where its cars are made, said Gabriela Juárez, 49, a Mexico City shopkeeper who bought an Aveo last year with her husband. 'We prefer Chevrolet because it's a well regarded brand,' she said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sask. to put American-made booze back on the shelves
The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) is resuming the purchase and distribution of American-made alcohol. All American alcohol products will now be available for purchase through all distribution centres and private liquor distributors in the province, said David Morris, a spokesperson for the corporation, in a statement to CBC on Tuesday. "This change gives Saskatchewan people the option to choose whether they want to buy these products or consider alternatives," Morris said. The federal government's 25-per-cent tariff on U.S. alcohol remains in effect. Morris said Saskatchewan consumers are still encouraged to support Saskatchewan and Canadian products when there is an option. The change comes nearly three months after the province reversed its decision to stop selling some American-branded alcohol products made in Canada. In March, the province announced a ban on all American alcohol products. It then walked back that ban for 54 brands that, while American-owned, are produced in Canada. It said in a statement the move aligned with other provinces and that it would focus its ban on alcohol produced in America.
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Lesotho, a Small African Nation, Expects a Big Hit From Trump's Tariffs
The nation that the Trump administration slapped with the heftiest tariff this week is a small, rural, landlocked country in southern Africa that is among the world's poorest. Lesotho, which makes denim that goes into American-branded jeans, was hit with a 50 percent tariff. It was among several lower-income countries on the continent that were shocked by levies high above the minimum 10 percent imposed on nearly all of America's trading partners. Madagascar, where three-quarters of the population lives in poverty, now will be met with a 47 percent tariff when its apparel, vanilla and other exports enter the United States. Products from Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Libya and Mauritius all now have tariffs above 30 percent, as does South Africa, which has come under particular attack by the Trump administration. Mr. Trump has justified the across-the-board tariffs by declaring that the world trading system has played the United States for a chump who picked up the tab for the world's moochers. But Lesotho is hardly a big player in global trade: It imported less than $3 million in goods from the United States and exported $240 million there last year. The tariffs come as much of the African continent is already reeling. Just weeks ago, the Trump administration ended billions of dollars in aid to Africa that undergirded many countries' health care systems and disaster relief efforts. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
When Huge Trump Tariffs Hit Small African Economies
The nation that the Trump administration slapped with the heftiest tariff this week is a small, rural, landlocked country in southern Africa that is among the world's poorest. Lesotho, which makes denim that goes into American-branded jeans, was hit with a 50 percent tariff. It was among several lower-income countries on the continent that were shocked by levies high above the minimum 10 percent imposed on nearly all of America's trading partners. Madagascar, where three-quarters of the population lives in poverty, now will be met with a 47 percent tariff when its apparel, vanilla and other exports enter the United States. Products from Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Libya and Mauritius all now have tariffs above 30 percent, as does South Africa, which has come under particular attack by the Trump administration. Mr. Trump has justified the across-the-board tariffs by declaring that the world trading system has played the United States for a chump who picked up the tab for the world's moochers. But Lesotho is hardly a big player in global trade: It imported less than $3 million in goods from the United States and exported $240 million there last year. The tariffs come as much of the African continent is already reeling. Just weeks ago, the Trump administration ended billions of dollars in aid to Africa that undergirded many countries' health care systems and disaster relief efforts. At the same time, governments across the continent are coping with a foreign debt load that exceeds $1.1 trillion. Many are spending more on repaying their loans than on health care or education. For the most part, manufactured exports from Africa to the United States are minuscule. But to countries like Lesotho, the impact of tariffs is enormous. Exports of denim and diamonds make up more than a tenth of the country's gross domestic product. This will 'devastate the economy,' said Jacques Nel, head of Africa Macro at Oxford Economics, a research firm. Lesotho is already a poor country. It has a population of two million and its entire national output is about $2 billion a year, with an annual per capita income of $975. 'This has nothing to do with actual tariffs,' Mr. Nel said. 'They can't import a lot from the U.S., because they don't have a lot of money.' The textile industry is Lesotho's biggest private employer and produces its number-one export. The sector was nurtured after the United States passed the African Growth and Opportunity Act in 2000. Designed to boost manufacturing across the continent, the law removed most duties on goods from sub-Saharan Africa. That law expires later this year, although Mr. Trump effectively ended it this week. Lesotho's factories have made garments — particularly denim — for manufacturers like Levi's and Wrangler. And although Mr. Trump recently called Lesotho a country that 'nobody has ever heard of,' his own Trump-branded Greg Norman golf shirts feature labels that say 'Made in Lesotho.' Lesotho's trade minister, Mokhethi Shelile, said the country has 11 factories that employ 12,000 workers. Seventy percent of what they produce is exported to the United States. 'We are a small economy,' Mr. Shelile said. 'We just have to speak to the U.S. administration because the tariff is not based on facts.' Other top exporters of textiles in Africa, like Madagascar (47 percent tariff) and Kenya (10 percent), will also feel the sting. Because South Africa does more trade with the United States, exporting automobiles, agricultural goods and more, it will be most affected, said Thea Fourie at S&P Global Market Intelligence. African nations whose major exports are energy or certain critical minerals will be spared because the administration has exempted those items from tariffs. While the United States is imposing tariffs on the relatively small amount of goods from Africa — just $39 billion worth last year — China has been trying to encourage trade. It eliminated all import duties on products from 33 African countries in December. A bigger concern is the knock-on effects that the tariffs are expected to have on the global economy. The outlook has dimmed over the past week and analysts are expecting slower growth. 'Even African countries not facing very high tariffs are going to be suffering,' said Jayati Ghosh, an economist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. As is the case with any global downturn, the poorest countries will feel the sharpest effects. Worsening economic prospects could slow trade with other partners like China and Europe. It also discourages investors. If inflation prompts central banks to raise interest rates, African countries with large debt burdens are in for a double whammy. Their loan payments — most of which are priced in dollars — will increase at the same time that their ability to earn foreign exchange through exports is crippled. Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, the executive vice president of the African Center for Economic Transformation, said the only way forward is to develop regional trade networks within the continent, a long-running goal. The continent has to look for 'opportunities to build intra-African trade,' she said.
CBC
24-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Sask. walks back ban on American-branded beer made in Canada
Saskatchewan has reversed a decision to stop selling or distributing American-branded alcohol products made in Canada, after industry backlash. In wake of U.S. tariffs, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) said it notified beverage alcohol retailers, distributors and producers that American-branded products wouldn't be sold or distributed in the province. The SLGA originally released a list of 54 American alcohol brands, including Bud Light, Blue Moon, Busch, Kirkland Wine and others. Industry leaders like Jim Bence, the president and CEO of Hospitality Saskatchewan, argued many of the American beer brands that have headquarters in the U.S. are still brewed in Canada. Labatt Breweries of Canada says it employs about 3,500 people in the country and brews brands like Bud Light, Busch and Budweiser in Canada. Beer Canada also called on the province to reverse its decision. "Beer Canada is calling on Premier Moe's government to immediately reverse this heavy-handed market intervention, which inappropriately targets leading Canadian beer brands brewed in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Québec that are most often made from Saskatchewan and other Western Canadian-grown barley," a news release from the organization stated. On Monday, the government walked back its decision. It said in a statement that the move aligned with other provinces and that it would focus on alcohol produced in the U.S. "We have spent a lot of time speaking with stakeholders within the industry such as Hospitality Saskatchewan, speaking with the public, talking to some of our local distributors," Alana Ross, the minister responsible for SLGA, said on Monday. "We weren't really in line with what the other provinces were doing, so we took it back." The province said the sale and distribution of the 54 Canadian-produced American brands will resume. Bence said he appreciated the government's willingness to take feedback on the issue. "We applaud their ability to be able to [reverse the decision] and their willingness to look at information and roll back some of the pieces that they had implemented last week," Bence said. CBC has requested a list of American-made beers the province will now focus on.
