Mexico Awaits Trump Verdict on 30% Tariff After ‘Intense’ Talks

Mexico’s economy minister Marcelo Ebrard said negotiations with the United States over a planned 30% tariff on Mexican imports have been “intense” and “complex” but expressed optimism that President Donald Trump will ultimately scale back or delay the measure scheduled to take effect on 1 August. Ebrard told reporters in Mexico City that the government has already “done everything it needed to do” during the talks and is now awaiting the White House decision. He noted that 84% of bilateral commerce is already tariff-free under the USMCA framework and argued Mexico is positioned more favorably than many other U.S. trade partners. The threatened levy, announced earlier in July as part of Washington’s push for stronger cooperation on border security and anti-drug efforts, would broaden the trade frictions between the two countries. Business groups in Mexico say they expect as much as 90% of current trade to remain exempt if a compromise is reached, but the final scope will depend on Trump’s ruling later this week.