United States President Donald Trump announced Thursday that imports from Mexico covered by the USMCA free trade pact will not be subject to U.S. tariffs until at least early April.
“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump said in a post to his Truth Social account.
“This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl,” he wrote.
“Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!”
Trump’s announcement came two days after the United States imposed 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and most imports from Canada due to what the White House said was the two countries’ failure to adequately stem the flow of “lethal drugs” such as fentanyl into the U.S.
As of 11 a.m. Mexico City time, Trump had not announced a pause on U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt announced Wednesday that Trump had decided to give a one-month tariff exemption to automakers importing vehicles from Mexico and Canada.
Muchas gracias al presidente Donald Trump. Tuvimos una excelente y respetuosa llamada en la que coincidimos en que nuestro trabajo y colaboración han dado resultados sin precedentes, en el marco de respeto a nuestras soberanías. Continuaremos trabajando juntos, particularmente en… pic.twitter.com/JzD9jkm8tz
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) March 6, 2025
Sheinbaum shared Trump’s Truth Social post to her own social media accounts along with a message of appreciation for the U.S. president.
“Thank you very much to President Donald Trump. We had an excellent and respectful call during which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results within the framework of respect for our sovereignties,” she wrote.
“We will continue working together, particularly on the issues of migration and security, which include reducing the illegal crossing of fentanyl to the United States and weapons to Mexico. As President Trump mentions, Mexico won’t be required to pay tariffs on all products within the USMCA. This agreement is until April 2, when the United States will announce reciprocal tariffs for all countries,” Sheinbaum said.
The president subsequently told reporters at a (later than usual morning) press conference that “practically” all trade between Mexico and the United States occurs “within USMCA,” which stipulates rules including “rules of origin” that products must comply with in order to travel across borders in North America without being subject to tariffs.
Sheinbaum also said that “practically” all of Mexico’s imports from the United States enter the country tariff-free and therefore U.S. reciprocal tariffs will have a negligible impact on Mexico if any. However, the United States could choose to reimpose tariffs on Mexico if it deems that its actions against drugs and migrants are lacking.
Sheinbaum told reporters that during her call with Trump she presented United States Customs and Border Protection data on fentanyl seizures at the Mexico-U.S. border.
She highlighted that fentanyl seizures at the border — which can be as used as a proxy to estimate whether the amount of the opioid entering the United States is going up or down — declined 41.5% in February compared to January.
Sheinbaum said that Trump wasn’t aware of that statistic, and attributed it to the increase in fentanyl seizures in Mexico.
She said she presented other data on security results to Trump, including on arrests in Mexico, and highlighted Mexico’s cooperation with the United States in its decision to extradite 29 cartel figures to the U.S. last week.
Sheinbaum stressed that her agreement with Trump that will ward off tariffs for at least the next four weeks “benefits both countries.”
In the call with Trump, “we were treated with a lot of respect,” the president said, explaining that she used the word “we” because she represents the people of Mexico.
Sheinbaum said that “respect and dignity” have been the “characteristics” of all four calls she has had with Trump.
On Tuesday, the president said she would announce retaliatory “tariff and non-tariff” measures in response to the U.S. duties during a rally in Mexico City’s central square, the Zócalo, on Sunday.
For the time being at least those measures won’t be necessary.
On Thursday, Sheinbaum said “a festival” with live music to celebrate the deal with Trump would take place in the Zócalo on Sunday. In addition to the tariff agreement, she said she might also “speak about the judicial reform,” whose approval late last year paved the way for Mexico’s first ever judicial elections to be held this June.
Mexico News Daily
