ABSTRACT
The rationalization and export dynamism experienced by the Canadian and the Mexican auto industries in the 1980s was followed by important regulatory changes that boosted even further the industry modernization. These regulatory changes permitted the US vehicle assemblers to implement fully their new efficiency-seeking strategies, which came to complement their traditional market-seeking strategies. By facilitating the cross-border exchange of automotive products, those regulations permitted automotive producers to rationalize their operations on a North American basis, exploit economies of scale and scope as well as national competitiveness, and therefore reduce production costs.
