The threat of imposing a 25 percent tariff on Mexican products could directly impact American families, with significant increases in everyday consumer products such as beer, avocados, and berries, according to a warning this morning from Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard. Final consumers in the United States would be the most affected by this tariff measure, which would impact a trade relationship that reached $46.825 billion in food and beverages alone between January and November 2024, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Mexican beer, the leader in U.S. imports with $5.87 billion, would be affected by a possible price increase. Fresh tomatoes and berries, with $2.835 billion and $2.234 billion respectively, would also be products susceptible to price increases. This tariff measure threatens to significantly raise food and beverage purchases for millions of American households.
Donald Trump has initiated the threat of applying tariffs, despite American opposition to this measure. According to surveys from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Wall Street Journal, 46 percent of respondents oppose tariffs on goods entering the United States. Additionally, 68 percent of respondents believe that tariffs would cause an increase in the prices of goods.
Idelfonso Guajardo, former Secretary of Economy and former negotiator of the USMCA, has indicated that Mexico has no choice but to respond to Trump with tariffs. Guajardo argues that if the Mexican Government decides not to impose tariffs on the United States, it would lose respect and negotiating power with Trump in the upcoming USMCA review. According to the former Secretary, he would already have a list of products with tariffs that would affect the United States more, including tequila, with exports of $5.043 billion, and Mexican avocados, with imports of $3.125 billion, a fundamental element in gastronomy and events like the Super Bowl in the United States.
