Mexico's economy minister Marcelo Ebrard traveled to Washington DC on Monday to negotiate a resolution to threatened 25% US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from his country. Ebrard was joined by deputy minister of foreign trade Luis Rosendo Gutierrez to meet with US officials and discuss steel and aluminum, the economy ministry said.
The visit comes amid uncertainty over how the tariffs will impact Mexico's auto and manufacturing sectors, given the deep integration of supply chains across North America. The president of Mexican automaker association AMIA confirmed the group's support for Ebrard, stating that they are all working to ensure there are no steel tariffs on 12 March.
US President Donald Trump enacted a blanket tariff of 25% on all imported goods from Canada and Mexico on March 4. The next day, the Trump administration announced it would exclude from the tariff all goods in compliance with the USMCA free trade agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada for a period ending 2 April. Meanwhile, all goods not in compliance will continue to fall under the blanket 25% tariff.
Furthermore, the Trump administration has said it will impose a global 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports to the US, effective Wednesday, but market sources say there is confusion over how the global metals tariff will interact with the 4 March tariffs. Garza highlighted concerns over how the tariffs could disrupt cross-border trade, noting that auto parts often cross the US-Mexico border multiple times before final assembly.
Ebrard is also presenting Mexico's stance on trade rules under the US-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement. Recent US International Trade Commission data shows that 8.2% of Mexican vehicle exports and 20.4% of Mexican auto parts exports currently do not comply with USMCA rules of origin. Mexico exported $106bn in auto parts in 2024, 87% of which went to the US, according to auto part association INA.
Auto industry groups in Mexico are working with their US and Canadian counterparts, compiling data to support Ebrard's negotiations, including potential scenarios for the impact of tariffs on auto prices and production across the trade bloc.
