Higher tariffs on Mexico, the United States’ biggest trading partner, were scheduled to take effect on Friday, but President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that he would halt them.
Trump was anticipated to raise final duty rates for the majority of other nations, but he decided to provide Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs in order to negotiate a more comprehensive trade agreement. Following a Thursday morning phone conversation between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who posted on X: The extension avoids a 30% duty on the majority of Mexican non-automotive and non-metal goods that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.We got 90 days to negotiate a long-term agreement and avoided the tariff hike that was scheduled for tomorrow.
“I just finished a phone conversation with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, and it was very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other,” Trump reported in a Truth Social post. Because of the border’s advantages and disadvantages, a deal with Mexico is a little more complicated than one with other countries. We have decided to prolong the same deal we had for the prior brief period of time for another ninety days. In order to sign a trade deal within the next ninety days or more, we will be negotiating with Mexico at that time.
About 85% of Mexican exports, according to the country’s economy ministry, adhere to the USMCA’s rules of origin, which exempts them from 25% fentanyl-related duties. In addition to imposing a 25% tariff on Mexican automobiles and non-USMCA-compliant commodities that are susceptible to tariffs relating to the U.S. fentanyl epidemic, Trump stated that the United States would continue to impose a 50% tariff on Mexican steel, aluminum, and copper.
Credit for editing: Ungureanu Photograph by Catalina Oana/Shutterstock.com
