Mexico Sure It Will Strike Deal With US to Skirt Tariffs

Mint

a day ago

Mexico is projecting confidence that it will fend off a new set of 30% tariffs that President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on the Latin American country starting on Aug. 1.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a speech in the border state of Sonora that every country was getting a letter from Trump. She said her team had already begun discussions with the US on Friday and was confident Mexico would get a deal.
'We believe, based on what our colleagues discussed yesterday, that we will reach an agreement with the United States government and that, of course, we will achieve better conditions,' she said, repeating her refrain about how it's best to keep a cool head.
Mexico and the US established a new binational working group on Friday to address security, migration and economic issues, according to a statement posted on Saturday by Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard on X. The first major task of the group will be to find an alternative to the tariffs and 'protect jobs on both sides of the border,' the statement read.
'We told the group that this treatment is unfair and that we're not in agreement,' read the statement, jointly signed by the Economy and the Foreign Affairs ministries.
Trump published his latest tariff threats early Saturday, saying Mexico would be subject to the 30% rate for not doing enough to fight fentanyl trafficking, even though the country has made strides in helping secure the border with the US.
The U.S. doesn't intend to apply the 30% rate to USMCA-compliant goods, according to a White House official. The situation remains fluid, the official cautioned. The administration has previously said it will keep the exemption for Canada.
Continuing the exclusion for both Mexico and Canada narrows the scope of Trump's continental tariffs and would be a lifeline to sectors like the auto industry that rely heavily on the USMCA pact, which was renegotiated under Trump's first term.
The US president said the 30% tariffs are separate from sectoral ones and could be raised if Mexico retaliates.
'Mexico still has not stopped the Cartels who are trying to turn all of North America into a Narco-Trafficking Playground,' Trump wrote. 'If Mexico is successful in challenging the Cartels and stopping the flow of Fentanyl, we will consider an adjustment to this letter.'
He said Mexico has many other non-tariff trade barriers that have created an 'unsustainable' trade deficit with the US.
With assistance from Josh Wingrove.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.