Mexico Warns Trump 25% Tariffs Would Be ‘Strategic Mistake’

Trucks wait in line at the Ysleta-Zaragoza International Bridge port of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border in Juarez, Mexico. (David Peinado/Bloomberg)

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Mexico’s government told President Donald Trump that his plan to place 25% tariffs on its goods would be a mistake that raises costs for U.S. consumers, a day after he renewed his pledge to impose them Feb. 1.

The tariffs would also “set aside” the North American free trade pact known as the USMCA, President Claudia Sheinbaum said, without providing clarity on what Mexico believes that will mean for the deal between it, the U.S. and Canada.

“The USMCA has to do with free trade and no tariffs. If this scenario were to occur, it would obviously set aside the trade agreement,” Sheinbaum said Jan. 31 at her daily press conference.

With a potential announcement looming, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the tariffs would affect 12 million U.S. buyers of cars made in Mexico. Prices of refrigerators, computers, televisions, beer and fruit would also increase, and U.S. consumers could face scarcity of those products, he said.

For that reason, the tariffs would be “a strategic mistake” for the U.S., Ebrard said.

Sheinbaum reiterated that Mexico is prepared for whatever the Trump administration may announce, while arguing that the two nations should see each other as partners rather than competitors.

“We’re obviously doing everything in our hands to avoid that we get to a scenario of that kind,” Sheinbaum said. “But if it happens, we’re prepared and we have made clear our position, and we are always seeking dialogue with the U.S.”