Mexico aims for tariff deal with Trump before March 4 deadline

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum hopes to finalize an agreement with the Trump administration that would prevent import tariffs on goods from her country being imposed starting next week.

President Donald Trump said Monday that 25% tariffs on most imports from Canada and Mexico – delayed by a month to give those countries time to work on border security – will take effect March 4.

“We must review everything that President Trump says. That is why I always say that we must keep a cool head and not take isolated phrases,” Sheinbaum said during her daily morning news conference on Tuesday. “Obviously the agreement has to be closed this week. Eight days from now, the suspension period that was agreed upon in that phone call will end [on] March 4.”

Sheinbaum and Trump agreed Feb. 3 to suspend the proposed tariffs for one month. As part of this arrangement, Mexico committed to deploying 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to combat drug trafficking.

Canadian authorities also reached an agreement at the beginning of February with the Trump administration to delay tariffs by one month.

On Tuesday, Canada Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said her country will hit back at the U.S. if Trump moves ahead with the tariffs on March 4.

“We need to stand strong and send a clear message that Canadians will fight back,” Joly said, according to CBC. “The threat of tariffs is a real one and may continue for a while. We need to be able to deal with the unpredictability of President Trump.”

Trump said Monday the tariffs were “moving along very rapidly,” Bloomberg reported.

An anonymous source told Bloomberg that what might happen with the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods has yet to be determined. The source said that reciprocal tariffs, which would be assessed against all countries based on their individual tariff rates on U.S. exports, are still on track for implementation in April.

“We want to have the same – so if somebody charges us, we charge them. It’s very simple. But it’ll be very good for our country. Our country will be extremely liquid and rich again,” Trump said, according to Bloomberg.

Sheinbaum said Trump’s talk of imposing reciprocal tariffs on nations around the world should not apply to Mexico.

“He calls for reciprocity in tariffs on rates, what does that mean? What he suggests is that if a country imposes taxes on imports, on exports or imports depending, that is, if American products entering Europe have a tax, a tariff, then he says they receive reciprocity, the United States is going to impose a tariff on them,” she said. “We don’t have any tariffs between the U.S. and Mexico, so if we go to the issue of reciprocity … we would remain as we are.”

Imports from China have already been hit with a 10% tariff.

Mexico was the top U.S. trade partner for the second consecutive year in 2024, totaling a record-breaking $840 billion.

It was the highest annual trade total any country had ever recorded with the U.S., according to market research firm WorldCity.

Canada ranked No. 2 for trade with the U.S. in 2024 at $761 billion, and China ranked third at $582 billion.

Some economists have said the tariffs could worsen inflation, which the Consumer Price Index pegged at 3% in January.

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