Mexico Risks New Tariff Hit on $15 Billion of Truck Exports
Southern Neighbor Supplies 70% of Heavy Trucks That the US Imports
Key Takeaways:
- The Trump administration plans to impose new tariffs on heavy truck imports starting Nov. 1, a move Mexican officials vowed to challenge.
- Mexico, which supplies 70% of U.S. heavy truck imports worth $15 billion, would be the most affected by the duties tied to a U.S. national security probe.
- President Claudia Sheinbaum said she may call Trump to discuss the tariffs as both countries prepare for next year’s review of the USMCA trade pact.
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Mexican officials vowed to push back against new tariffs the Trump administration is planning on heavy trucks, yet another hurdle the U.S. is throwing in front of its southern neighbor ahead of next year’s review of their trade deal.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said she may reach out to Donald Trump by phone about the new duties, which the U.S. president has said will be imposed Nov. 1. While the import tax applies to trucks from all over the world, Mexico would be hit the hardest, she said in a news conference Oct. 7.
RELATED: Why America’s Trade Partners Oppose Trump’s Truck Tariffs
Mexico supplies 70% of the heavy trucks imported by U.S., making them an important product for the local economy, Deputy Economy Minister for Foreign Trade Luis Rosendo Gutierrez said during a BloombergNEF forum in Mexico City. He said Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard is working with U.S. officials to avoid the new duty.
“The trade issue is very dynamic: Every day we have news, and we must adapt,” Gutierrez said. “Tariffs on heavy trucks affect $15 billion in exports.”
Mexico's economy minister, Marcelo Ebrard. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg)
Trump’s announcement this week was tied to a probe launched in April by the Commerce Department into heavy truck imports. That investigation, conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, allows for the imposition of import taxes on goods deemed critical to national security.
MORE:How Trump's Tariffs on Trucks, Parts Could Hit Fleets, OEMs
The Commerce Department concluded that a “small number” of foreign suppliers made up the bulk of U.S. imports due to “predatory trade practices.”
Trump imposed a tariff of 25% on Mexican goods earlier this year, though most are exempted because they comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact. Those levies were tied to what the U.S. president has called Mexico’s lack of effort in combating fentanyl trafficking.
The U.S. has also put higher duties on Mexican tomatoes, citing anticompetitive behavior; shut off cattle imports because of the spread of the New World screwworm pest; and briefly threatened tariffs over a water-sharing agreement. Mexico is also trying to win an exemption from global U.S. tariffs on steel and other products.
Sheinbaum
Yet despite all the challenges, Sheinbaum has maintained a good relationship with Trump, who has spoken admiringly of her after their phone calls. In late July, Trump agreed to continue talks with Mexico for a 90-day period, instead of further hiking tariffs as he did to other countries at the time.
Trump has in the past openly criticized the free trade pact known as USMCA, raising questions about whether the U.S. will push for drastic changes during the 2026 review, or agree to let the deal stand largely in its current form. Mexico has stressed the importance of the agreement, which has been in place since 2020.
RELATED: Canada’s Carney Visits Trump Ahead of USMCA Review
“President Sheinbaum’s form of managing it, which has led to an explicit recognition of the USMCA and that Mexico be treated differently than other countries in the world, has been important,” said Altagracia Gomez Sierra, a business adviser for the government and chair of the board of Grupo Minsa, at the BloombergNEF forum. “Only together can we maintain our competitiveness.”
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