President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will pause higher tariffs on Mexico, America’s largest trading partner, that were set to go into effect Friday.
Trump agreed to give Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal but was expected to issue higher final duty rates for most other countries The extension, which avoids a 30% tariff on most Mexican non-automotive and non-metal goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, came after a Thursday morning call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who wrote on X: “We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow and we got 90 days to build a long-term agreement through dialogue.”
Trump said in a Truth Social post: “I have just concluded a telephone conversation with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, which was very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other. The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different than other Nations because of both the problems, and assets, of the Border. We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time… We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 Days with the goal of signing a Trade Deal somewhere within the 90 Day period of time, or longer.”
According to Mexico’s economy ministry approximately 85% of Mexican exports comply with the rules of origin outlined in the USMCA, shielding them from 25% tariffs related to fentanyl. Trump said that the U.S. would continue to levy a 50% tariff on Mexican steel, aluminum and copper and a 25% tariff on Mexican autos and on non-USMCA-compliant goods subject to tariffs related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
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