Maquiladoras

A maquiladora is a Mexican assembly/manufacturing operation that can be subject up to 100% non-Mexican ownership. It utilizes competitively priced Mexican labor in assembly processing and/or other manufacturing operations, that temporarily imports most parts from the US and other sources. Mexican law allows these operations to bring in most capital equipment and machinery from abroad. Maquiladora operators generally are labor-intensive cost centers, with most productions geared to be exported. Maquiladoras can be foreign managed, unlike other multi-nationals operating in Mexico.

Location
Most maquiladoras are located along the Mexican border

Products
Maquiladoras manufacture a broad array of products under Mexican law. Exceptions to this allowance include many industries producing petroleum, petrochemicals, other chemicals, arms, and items containing radioactive elements. As long as the imported components brought into Mexico are destined for export, no Mexican import tax is levied on the temporarily imported maquiladora inputs. Instead of duties, maquiladora operators must post a bond with the Mexican Customs Service to guarantee that components and raw material are re-exported from Mexico within a six month period. A bond on capital equipment and machinery ensures that they will be fully returned to the maquiladora operator's country of origin once it ceases operation in Mexico.

Foreign employee and management entry into Mexico
The maquiladora may bring in as many foreign employees as necessary, with the exception of hourly laborers. All hourly employees must be Mexican. Foreign employees must obtain work visas, which usually require a 3-5 day wait.

As a side note, most maquiladora workers earn about $3 a day, depending on which one they work at. Here's how the Mexican peso compares to the US dollar:

1 peso = .1037 of one dollar
$1 = 9.6430 pesos