SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Samsung has decided to stop any future investment in Mexico over economic doubts caused in part by President Trump’s proposed tariffs, according to Roberto Vega Solís, president of Mexico’s Business Confederation in Tijuana.
The South Korean firm has also announced plans to lay off up to 30 percent of its labor force in Mexico.
Vega Solís says President Trump has created “a very uncertain business environment by exposing Mexico to tariffs.”
“It’s very difficult for a business person to make plans when they’re on one day, but everything changes the next, it’s difficult being the head of a company like Samsung along the border.”
According to Vega Solís, Samsung is one of the oldest foreign corporations in Mexico, its manufacturing plant in Tijuana builds television sets.
“They have not issued a news release officially announcing anything from our government, but we have heard the sad news, this company generates a lot of jobs in our country.”
Earlier this month, President Trump implemented a 25 percent tariff on aluminum and steel imports, vital components in the fabrication of refrigerators.
Tariffs on other products made or grown in Mexico remain under consideration by the White House and could be instituted on April 2.
“I imagine Samsung will take a temporary pause until everything is defined,” said Vega Solís. “They use a lot of steel, their refrigerators contain a lot of it, with the tariffs, it will make this product harder to make and harder to find.”
Samsung currently operates two plants in Mexico, one in Tijuana and one in the city of Querétaro, where the company was investing millions of dollars to build household appliances like refrigerators.
Vega Solís also says Mexico’s growing debt and Judicial reform are troubling for a company like Samsung and are factors in the company’s temporary investment halt.
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