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Ebrard touts Mexico’s advantage in USMCA review: “We export the most and pay the least” Image: Antonio López/ EL UNIVERSAL
🇲🇽 Mexico /Economy & Trade

Ebrard touts Mexico’s advantage in USMCA review: “We export the most and pay the least”

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico faces one of its most difficult trade negotiations of the century as it reviews the USMCA with the United States.
  • He said Mexico avoided an initially proposed 25% blanket tariff on Mexican goods and now has an average effective tariff of 3.4%, compared with 6.7% for the rest of the world.
  • Ebrard said Mexico’s priority is to preserve its advantage in the next stages of the negotiations.

Mexico has entered the review of its trade agreement with the United States in a stronger position than expected, Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard told Morena senators.

This is the most difficult negotiation there is going to be.

— Marcelo EbrardMexico’s economy secretary described the ongoing trade talks with the United States.

Ebrard said the negotiation represented one of the most difficult processes Mexico has faced this century. He recalled that US President Donald Trump initially threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all Mexican goods, a move that could have put the existing trade framework at risk.

Instead, Ebrard argued, President Claudia Sheinbaum’s negotiating strategy helped contain pressure from Washington. He presented senators with figures on the effective tariff, which measures what countries actually pay on goods exported to the United States, including products that face different rates or enter duty-free.

I am going to impose a 25 percent tariff on all the products Mexico sends.

— Donald TrumpEbrard recalled Trump’s initial tariff threat at the start of his administration.

Mexico’s current average effective tariff stands at 3.4%, according to the figures Ebrard cited. The average for the rest of the world is 6.7%, while Vietnam, described as one of Mexico’s main competitors for the position of leading supplier to the US market, faces an effective tariff of about 6.4%.

We export the most and pay the least.

— Marcelo EbrardEbrard characterized Mexico’s position using the effective tariff figures he presented to senators.

“We export the most and pay the least,” Ebrard said. He added that the advantage reflected the strategy followed by Sheinbaum and implemented by his ministry. The next priority, he said, is to maintain that position as the commercial negotiations continue, particularly given the scale of Mexico’s trade with the United States and competition among economies seeking to protect or expand their share of the market.

This is the result of the strategy followed by President Sheinbaum, which we have been responsible for implementing in the trade negotiation.

— Marcelo EbrardHe attributed Mexico’s tariff position to the government’s negotiating strategy.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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