Prominent Mexican business organizations have decried the U.S. government’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods while also lamenting the threat of reciprocal tariffs in April, saying the actions will weaken North American competitiveness.
U.S. President Donald Trump made official the 25% levy on Sunday night, prompting Monday’s public statements from AmCham Mexico (an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) and the Mexican Employers Federation (Coparmex).
Un futuro próspero se construye con certeza.
Los aranceles son contraproducentes para nuestro sistema de coproducción regional. Ahora es el momento de redoblar esfuerzos para fortalecer a Norteamérica.
Comunicado de prensa:
🔎📑 https://t.co/SCU5uJN8Nz pic.twitter.com/NexMPUJ557— American Chamber/Mexico (@AmChamMexico) March 4, 2025
In a social media post, AmCham called tariffs “counterproductive to our regional coproduction system,” suggesting that they “threatened the region’s future prospects” by causing uncertainty.
In a press release, AmCham said “the United States, Mexico and Canada have built a strong and competitive regional economy … [driving] growth and job creation.”
The tariffs put all of this at risk, AmCham said, insisting the policy would backfire. Instead, it argued, the three economies “should build on a winning formula that strengthens North America’s position as the world’s most dynamic economic bloc.”
AmCham also urged a strong public response to the tariffs.
“Now is the time to redouble our efforts to strengthen North America,” it said, adding, “Now is the time to double down on cooperation, stability and shared prosperity.”
In its own press release, Coparmex lamented the tariff decision, calling it “a step backward in trade relations and an act that will weaken North American competitiveness.”
Coparmex also said Trump’s action “contradicts the principles of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and will generate uncertainty in key economic sectors … The disruption of strategic sectors risks disintegrating North American productivity.”
The Mexican federation also warned that the decision “will provoke recession in Mexico and high inflation in the U.S.”
Former NAFTA negotiator weighs in
Luis de la Calle, an Economy Ministry official during both the Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) and Vicente Fox (2000–2006) administrations, urged the Sheinbaum administration to remain calm, arguing that the tariff policy “is unsustainable.”
In an interview with media organization La Silla Rota, de la Calle said the tariffs are unlikely to last long, so the Mexican government should focus on “preserving [the USMCA] and the possibility of [North American] integration.”
De la Calle — a member of the Mexican delegation that negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement in the early 1990s, the predecessor of the USMCA — called on Sheinbaum to be calculated and calm in negotiations with Trump. Coincidentally, this is the strategy the Mexican president has relied upon throughout the past month, which has won her praise for her diplomacy.
Sheinbaum continued to “keep a cool head” Tuesday, offering a measured response to the U.S. tariffs in contrast to the application of immediate retaliatory tariffs announced by China and Canada.
With reports from La Silla Rota and The Guardian
