“The USMCA is maintained. That is a major achievement. Let’s not take it for granted, because in a new trade order based on tariffs, it is very difficult for a free trade agreement to survive,” said the minister after US President Donald Trump’s speech yesterday. The day before, Trump announced the application of so-called reciprocal tariffs to dozens of nations, but not to Mexico and Canada, the United States’ partners in the North American trade agreement, which he did attack in his speech.

As the White House later clarified, goods from this Latin American country covered by the USMCA, through which the majority of bilateral trade flows, remain tariff-free.

According to Ebrard, the neighboring country has 14 free trade agreements, but the only case in which tariffs were not applied was related to the USMCA.

He emphasized that key sectors of the national economy avoided tariffs, such as agri-food, electronics manufacturing, electrical, chemical, clothing and footwear, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, and that over 10 million jobs were protected.

In the president’s opinion, the strategy outlined by President Claudia Sheinbaum to achieve preferential treatment is working.

He alluded to the ongoing dialogue established with the United States and noted that the goal in the next 40 days is to achieve “the best conditions among all countries in the world in the automotive industry” and also in the case of steel and aluminum.

On March 12, the United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, and last week announced tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, although there are specific provisions for Mexico in the latter case.

According to information released by U.S. authorities, importers under the USMCA will only pay the tariff on non-U.S. content, and parts that comply with the agreement will remain tariff-free for the time being.

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