La Jornada: Ebrard: it is “unlikely” that the US will withdraw tariffs on Mexico

Marcelo Ebrard, head of the Ministry of Economy (SE), acknowledged yesterday that it is unlikely that the United States will eliminate the tariffs it has imposed on the automotive sector and the steel and aluminum industries; He also accepted that trade differences and a lot of uncertainty persist.

At the end of the launch of the InnovaFest program, which seeks to strengthen innovation by linking talent with academia, companies and investors, the official also admitted that the review of the Mexico, United States and Canada Treaty (T-MEC) will not be easy, but assured that the government is making “a great effort” and the visit of US officials this week “is a good step.”

He highlighted that the new commercial approach of the United States moves away from free trade and is committed to a scheme of selective tariffs and stricter rules that force a greater part of the products to be manufactured in North America.

However, he said, the Mexican government has managed to reduce the taxes that the United States applies to exports from the national automobile sector compared to what it charges other nations.

Last Monday, the head of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) visited Mexico and met with President Claudia Sheinbaum and Mexican businessmen.

Ebrard indicated yesterday: “Regarding what Ambassador (Jamieson) Greer said… it is more or less what he said here and what he has been saying in the meetings: it is very difficult for the commercial system we had, based on free trade, to return.

“That is, we should not live in the nostalgia of when there were no tariffs; now we are going to be in a system where there are tariffs, not on everything, but there are, and there are also rules of origin, which are sometimes more important than tariffs.”

The vehicle assembly, steel and aluminum industries “have been our priority; we know that it is very difficult to think that tariffs will disappear. We are looking for ways to reduce them. In fact, we have achieved it with the automotive industry.”

When evaluating the conversations with USTR representatives before the official round of bilateral negotiations scheduled for May 25, Ebrard said: “Mexico raised its position. The ideal world is to have practically no tariffs or to have as few as possible, and maintain an open flow of trade. Now we know the position of the United States and what concerns them.

“We see ourselves as a very integrated region. The United States wants to reduce its dependence on Asia. Mexico can be the great ally of the United States to produce all that. Broadly speaking, that’s what we’re going for.

“It doesn’t mean that we agree on everything; it’s not going to be easy either, there are many uncertainties, but we are going to make a great effort and I believe that this first step was a good step.”