Mexico: New negotiations - introduction of tariffs postponed until early April 2025

published on 17 March 2025 | reading time approx. 2 minutes

The tariffs ordered by US President Trump on imports from his two neighbouring countries came into force on 4 March 2025. On the same day, the tariffs on Chinese imports were also doubled to 20 per cent. However, following renewed negotiations by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the entry into force of the tariffs was postponed again.

For the second time in two months, Mexican President Sheinbaum has managed to postpone the introduction of tariffs by a month thanks to her negotiating skills. ‘After speaking with the Mexican president, I have agreed that Mexico will not have to pay tariffs on anything covered by the USMCA agreement,’ he said. Last week, Trump signed a decree that tariffs on some imports from his trading partners Mexico and Canada should be lifted by 2 April 2025.

The president called together the Mexican population on Sunday, 9 March 2025, for an information event on the Zócalo in Mexico City, at which she emphasised the “respectful dialogue” with the United States. No further information was announced.

Tariffs on steel and aluminum come into force worldwide

From 12 March 2025, however, the USA will introduce further tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and aluminum, which will affect all its trading partners, but primarily Canada and the European Union. The tariffs on steel and aluminum will impact the electronics industry, the automotive sector and the construction industry.

The imposition of tariffs will have a negative impact on the sales of steel and aluminum manufacturers outside the USA but may also lead to increased inflation in the USA if the companies based there are unable to replace imports with their own similarly lower-priced products.

As a countermeasure, the EU has announced tariffs on selected American products, which are to come into force in stages.