Mexico, the second country most affected by tariffs

25 percent tariffs on the United States to steel and aluminum exports are a hard blow to the Mexican economy. They affect a set of areas that represent five out of every 100 dollars sold by Mexico and include goods such as auto parts, appliances and electronic products, which are relevant in the industry of 11 states of the Republic.

In an interview, Fernando de Mateo, current coordinator of the Diploma on International Commercial Negotiations at the College of Mexico (Colmex), stressed that after China, Mexico is the country most beaten by Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on all products that enter the US and that among their components have some piece of steel or aluminum that has not been manufactured in its territory.

It is crazy, we export an infinity of products that carry steel or aluminum, we are the second country to which this measure will hit the mosthe pointed out.

Steel deficit

De Mateo explained that Mexico has a steel deficit with the US and does not produce aluminum, so the real problem, he said, falls on the decision to put tariff to those derived from these two materials, since in this field, the country exports to the US around 31 billion dollars, only exceeded by China, which registers around 35 billion dollars.

Of these exports, he explained, approximately 8 billion dollars correspond to products with steel components, while 23 billion dollars are related to aluminum.

Mexico, what it does, especially in the aluminum part, is to import the raw material, and then transform it and send it in the form of productsthe specialist pointed out.

According to data from the United States Census Office, among products containing steel or aluminum, which are most important are body parts, with 7,719 million dollars annually; followed by air conditioning parts (2,88 million) and motor vehicle parts (1,459 million dollars).

According to data from the Ministry of Economy, in 11 states of the Republic (Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, Morelos, Nuevo León, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas) The parts and accessories of motor vehicles are one of its three main export products to the United States.

According to the Banamex analysis area, it is increasingly clear that the imposition of these steel tariffs and aluminum translates into price increases for buyers in the US. Since these products are mainly used as inputs, it could have adverse consequences for the consumer and even modify the expected position and trajectory of the Fed monetary policy.

On the decision of President Claudia Sheinbaum not to retaliate against EU until knowing what happens on April 2, when Donald Trump applies another series of rates, from Mateo said that so far the president has shown a quiet negotiating attitude and less aggressive than other countries, which for the moment is adequate, because with the tariffs there is a Balazo on the footMexico would do the same responding in the same way. However, at some point you must respond with precision shots to industries that hit key sectors of the US economy.