Methodology for Creating a Matrix to Assess the Domestic Content of a Vehicle by Make and Model

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Establishing the domestic content of a motor vehicle is not the straightforward question that it would seem to be. The complexity of the motor vehicle, as well as the complexity of the motor vehicle industry, have made the determination of the exact percentage of domestic content of a vehicle a daunting task. It is, however, an important task to undertake, as the origins of a motor vehicle affect society in a variety of ways – for example, consumer decisions to purchase imported motor vehicles impact employment in the U.S. industry. This paper examines the various metrics used to determine how much of a motor vehicle is considered to be domestically produced.

Following the “Country of Origin” study published in 2008, this paper proposes a formula for determining the domestic content of a vehicle.