Mexico is in talks with the US government on how to avoid 25 percent tariffs on heavy trucks that are set to take effect on November 1, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday.
AFP reports: Mexico is the United States’ biggest supplier of trucks, and would be hard hit by US President Donald Trump’s latest move in his international tariff war.
Official statistics show that nearly 95 percent of the heavy vehicles produced in Mexico are exported to the United States, with which Mexico and Canada have a free trade agreement.
Sheinbaum admitted that the truck tariff announced Monday would affect her country more than others and said she would request a phone call with Trump to discuss the matter.
“We will seek an agreement before November 1,” she said during her regular morning conference, adding that Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard was in discussions with the US government.
The Trump administration cited national security concerns when it launched a so-called Section 232 probe into imports of trucks earlier this year.
Analysts say that the impact of the tariff depends on whether there are exemptions for vehicles made in Mexico and Canada.
Mexico, which sends around 80 percent of its exports to the United States, is one of the countries most exposed to Trump’s tariff war, which has upended the global trade order.
Sheinbaum has, however, proved adept at dodging most of the levies.
In a series of telephone calls with Trump she managed to persuade him to postpone other tariff increases.
But the US trade pressure is nonetheless taking a toll.
Between January and August, Mexico’s exports of heavy vehicles to the United States fell by 25.83 percent over the same period in 2024 to 78,283 units.