Mexico is working to achieve an exemption for its critical automotive industry after Washington announced tariffs on imported vehicles, Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Economy of Mexico said Thursday.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, revealed on Wednesday 25% tariffs on cars imports, intensifying his global commercial war and threatening the T-MEC free trade agreement that Mexico and Canada have with the United States.
Speaking from Washington, where he has met with senior officials of the Trump administration, Marcelo Ebrard, said the negotiations were ongoing to ensure preferential treatment for Mexico.
“If they are going to change the system, if we go to such a high tariff system, what we have to look for is a preferential treatment for Mexico so that we have conditions that protect our jobs and economic activity in Mexico,” Ebrard said in a video that was reproduced in the morning conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
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Tariffs not produced in the US
The Trump plan announced on Wednesday partially exempts tariffs for vehicles and pieces that meet the rules of origin of the T-MEC, but only for the value of its content produced in the United States.
Autos that meet the T-MEC will remain tariff free until US agencies can determine a process to apply tariffs to their content not produced in the United States, according to the White House.
Mexico exported 2.5 million vehicles to the United States in 2024, according to S&P Global Mobility.
With Reuters information.
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