What a maquila is?

Answer 1

It is short for maquiladora. A maquiladora is a factory or assembly plant operated in Mexico under preferential tariff programs established by the U.S. and Mexican governments to encourage the development of industry in Mexico. Mexico allows materials to be used in maquilas to enter duty-free, provided the finished product is then immediately exported out of Mexico. The U.S. in turn charges these products a much lower tariff than products from other countries.

Answer 2

A maquiladora (or maquila) is a factory, the majority of which are located in Mexican border towns, that imports materials and equipment on a duty- and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing. The main use of these assembly plants were to put together imported parts.