On February 3rd, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that after a phone call with Donald Trump, it was agreed to pause the tariffs for a month, which had been threatened against Mexican products in case measures against migration and drug trafficking were not implemented. In response to this situation, Mexico's Foreign Secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, stated that negotiations with the United States are expected to begin next week, including talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and other officials.
Ebrard emphasized the importance of understanding the strategy and final objectives of the United States in these negotiations, given the level of economic integration between both countries. He also mentioned the existence of a Plan B from Mexico in case the negotiations do not succeed, although he did not reveal further details, arguing that a tariff war with the U.S. would cause great harm to the Mexican economy.
The official pointed out that, contrary to accusations of importing cars from China, 40% of these products come from American companies like General Motors. He stated that Trump aims to reindustrialize the U.S. at the cost of keeping inflation low and boosting economic growth, a task he considered nearly impossible to achieve given the complexity of the objectives.
Additionally, Ebrard mentioned that Mexico is working on semiconductor production to maintain its competitiveness in the automotive sector, avoiding imposing additional costs on this industry. On the other hand, during a phone call with Howard Lutnick, the Mexican official pointed out the high level of drug consumption in the U.S. and the proximity of where the Secretary of Commerce was with sales points, questioning whether this implies that the United States is an ally of drug trafficking, referring to Trump's accusations about Mexico.
