Mexico Counters Tightening of US Trade

[ABS News Service/19.08.2026]

The government of Mexico has stepped up negotiations with the United States to contain the U.S. tightening of trade, especially in key sectors such as automotive and steel, El Pais newspaper reported.

Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said on Thursday that the negotiating team reviewing the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) has asked for a discount on the 25 percent tariff imposed by the Trump Administration on cars manufactured in Mexico and exported outside the alliance, and for greater flexibility in the duties applied to its steel sales.

Negotiations over the USMCA have entered a new phase of greater scrutiny in which every industrial sector on the table will be crucial to the economic performance of its members: Mexico, Canada and the United States. In July, Washington ruled out the possibility of swiftly renewing the agreement – which supports about $1.5 trillion in annual trade – for a further 16 years.

Instead, the world’s largest economy has pushed its partners into a process of detailed, periodic bilateral meetings in which every trade issue is examined not only as a business matter but also through the Republicans’ political lens. In that context, Ebrard also disclosed that Mexico has requested a halt to the imposition of new tariffs while the treaty review is under way.

“I brought a study that says: you are charging 15 percent on a vehicle made in Japan, South Korea, Germany or Morocco, and you want to charge us 25 percent on the ones we make in Mexico. So give me a discount, because we buy more US parts than the other countries I just mentioned,” the official told reporters.

The report on the negotiations was first published by The Wall Street Journal, which said that Claudia Sheinbaum’s government presented this counterproposal to the Trump Administration, which in turn is pushing to raise even further the rules vehicles must meet to qualify for the agreement’s preferential treatment for vehicles made in North America. According to the WSJ, the US Trade Representative’s office has proposed amending the rules of origin to specify that only cars with 50 percent US components would be covered by the USMCA.

Ebrard confirmed that his delegation has been persistent in its demands, though he avoided revealing details about Washington’s requests or the progress of talks. The two sides will meet again in September. The executive branch had previously said its review strategy would focus on improving its stance in the automotive and steel sectors, without outlining a specific plan.