Trade war heats up: Mexico keeps calm as Canada hits back

MEXICO CITY — Mexico has avoided the worst of the Trump tariff onslaught.

At slightest for now.

That was the connection of alleviation that Mexican officials were sending Thursday, a time aft the Trump medication unveiled its much-anticipated “Liberation Day” tariff regimen, imposing import levies connected scores of nations worldwide.

Spared successful the latest circular of duties were Mexico and Canada — Washington’s 2 largest trading partners — which are some signatories of the North American free-trade pact inked with the United States successful 2020, during Trump’s archetypal term.

The tariff battle from Washington has chipped distant astatine the three-nation commercialized deal, but overmuch of it remains intact — with the notable exceptions of 25% tariffs that the While House has imposed connected automotive imports, arsenic good arsenic connected alloy and aluminum.

“Until now, we person preferential treatment,” President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters astatine her greeting quality conference. “Of people we would similar to execute a amended situation.”

Sobering quality came Thursday successful an announcement from automaker Stellantis, whose brands see Jeep, Citroën and Ram. The institution said that it was temporarily halting accumulation astatine immoderate plants successful Mexico and Canada due to the fact that of the tariff uncertainty.

Still, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s economical minister, said Mexico’s actions helped code complaints and concerns aired by Trump, aiding Mexico’s lasting successful talks with Washington. Mexico deployed troops to the U.S.-Mexico borderline to power migration and beefed up efforts to antagonistic the accumulation and smuggling of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid, portion turning implicit dozens of wanted cause traffickers to the United States.

Such moves, Ebrard said, had helped sphere much than 10 cardinal jobs successful agriculture, manufacturing, textile accumulation and different sectors. Mexico’s $3-billion-a-year avocado manufacture has been frankincense acold unscathed.

The 25% U.S. tariff connected imported autos went into effect connected Thursday, instantly prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to slap a 25% retaliatory levy connected vehicles imported from the United States.

“We instrumentality these measures reluctantly,” Carney said. “And we instrumentality them successful ways that is intended and volition origin maximum interaction successful the United States and minimum interaction successful Canada.”

But Sheinbaum, who has championed a “cool headed” effect to Trump’s provocations — and eschewed an “eye for an eye, bony for a tooth” attack — refrained from imposing immoderate further duties connected U.S. imports. Her subdued cognition was successful quality with the good enactment she has walked passim the tariff debate, trying to appease Trump without being seen arsenic compromising Mexican sovereignty — a strategy that has mostly won her praise overseas and astatine home.

To date, wrote columnist Mario Maldonado successful the Mexican paper El Universal, Sheinbaum’s actions person been vindicated. “Nonetheless, this doesn’t bash distant with the profound stroke to overseas concern pursuing the U.S. authorities threats and the imminent economical slowdown — oregon crisis.”

Throughout the contentious tariff debate, the Mexican peso has remained comparatively unchangeable astatine astir 20 pesos to $1, a information that galore presumption arsenic a affirmative barometer of the government’s strategy.

“Mexico President Sheinbaum has been precise astute successful her negotiations, and she’s done a bully occupation of not agitating President Trump,” said Mike O’Rourke, main selling strategist astatine Jones Trading, an concern radical that analyzes planetary economical trends.

But, helium added, the concern remains “fluid” and not predictable.

“North America could upwind up successful a bully presumption here,” O’Rourke said. “But the occupation is we don’t cognize … what’s going to beryllium announced time oregon adjacent week.”

Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner. Last year, binational goods commercialized reached astir $840 billion. But the U.S. commercialized shortage with Mexico soared to astir $172 cardinal past year, a 12.7 % summation compared with 2023. Trump wants to bring down U.S. commercialized deficits globally.

Mexico, with its dense dependence connected cross-border commercialized — the U.S marketplace accounts for much than 80% of its full exports — has agelong been viewed arsenic the federation astir susceptible to Trump’s tariff agenda.

Vehicles and car parts correspond much than one-third of Mexican exports to the United States, generating astir $180 cardinal successful gross past year. The 25% tariff volition impact each specified imports, though the Trump medication has said exceptions would beryllium made for U.S.-made car contented exported backmost into the United States.

In ongoing talks, Mexican authorities are seeking to trim the caller tariffs connected some the car assemblage and alloy and aluminum manufacturers — arsenic good arsenic caput disconnected immoderate caller duties that whitethorn beryllium emanating from Washington.

“We person a imperishable dialog with the United States,” said Ebrard, who has been shuttling backmost and distant betwixt the 2 nations to conscionable with U.S. officials. “This is conscionable 1 chapter. It hasn’t ended yet.”

Staff writer Kate Linthicum and peculiar analogous Cecilia Sánchez Vidal contributed to this report.