As is the case with Mexico’s light vehicle exports to the United States, the U.S. content in USMCA-compliant medium- and heavy-duty trucks made in Mexico will be exempt from the 25% tariff the U.S. will implement on Nov. 1.
The exemption was outlined in a proclamation issued by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday and in an accompanying White House fact sheet on the 25% tariff.
Trump expands 25% truck tariff to include medium-duty vehicles, moves date to Nov. 1
“For medium- and heavy-duty trucks that do not qualify for preferential tariff treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the tariff will apply to the full value of the vehicle,” the fact sheet states.
“For medium- and heavy-duty trucks that qualify for preferential tariff treatment under the USMCA, the tariff will only apply to the value of the non-U.S. content in the vehicle,” it continues.
Trump’s proclamation states that importers of USMCA-compliant medium- and heavy-duty trucks from Mexico and Canada “may submit documentation to the Secretary [of Commerce] identifying the amount of United States content in each model imported into the United States.”
Medium- and heavy-duty trucks include Class 3 to Class 8 vehicles, like large pick-up trucks, moving trucks, cargo trucks, dump trucks and tractors for eighteen-wheelers, according to the White House fact sheet.
The announcement that the U.S. content in trucks made in Mexico won’t be subject to the 25% tariff came two days after President Claudia Sheinbaum said that progress was being made toward an agreement with the Trump administration to that end.
The U.S. content in cars made in Mexico is exempt from the 25% tariff the United States imposed on imports of light vehicles in April. The exemption lowers the effective tariff on Mexican cars to 15% on average as those vehicles have 40% U.S. content on average.
The United States is imposing a 25% tariff on medium- and heavy-duty trucks for national security reasons in accordance with Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
Trump first announced his intention to impose a tariff on imports of heavy-duty trucks (but not medium-duty trucks) in late September, saying at the time that the duty would “protect our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition.”
Earlier this month, Trump said that they 25% duty would also apply to medium-duty trucks.
Mexico is the world’s largest exporter of medium and heavy-duty trucks to the United States.
In the first seven months of 2025, Mexico’s exports of trucks, buses and special purpose vehicles to the United States were worth US $25.86 billion, accounting for 80% of U.S. expenditure on imports of those vehicles, according to U.S. government data.
Buses made in Mexico will face 10% tariff
Trump’s proclamation also states that a 10% tariff on imports of buses will take effect on Nov. 1. The duty will apply to school buses, transit buses and motor coaches, according to the White House fact sheet.
There will be no exemption for the U.S. content in buses made in Mexico.
Several companies including Volvo and Mercedes-Benz manufacture buses in Mexico. Some of the buses they manufacture are exported to the United States.
US content in USMCA-compliant truck parts will also be exempt from tariff
Trump’s proclamation states that imports of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle parts will also be subject to a 25% tariff starting Nov. 1.
However, the U.S. content in USMCA-compliant parts, including engines and transmissions, will be exempt from the duty.
Moreover, “USMCA-compliant medium- and heavy-duty truck parts will not be subject to tariffs … until the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, establishes a process to apply tariffs to the non-U.S. content of the parts,” according to the White House fact sheet.
It was unclear how soon the process would be established.
The White House fact sheet also says that Trump’s proclamation “incentivizes domestic medium- and heavy-duty truck production by offering an offset to a portion of tariffs for medium- and heavy-duty truck parts equal to 3.75% of the aggregate value of all trucks assembled in the United States from 2025 through 2030.”
More US protectionism
The tariffs the United States will soon impose on trucks, buses and medium- and heavy-duty vehicle parts will add to the Trump administration’s protectionist “America First” posture that has affected U.S. trading partners around the world.
Since returning to the White House in January, the U.S. president has significantly undermined the USMCA by imposing tariffs on a range of imports from Mexico and Canada.
Mexican products including cars, steel and aluminum now face tariffs when exported to the United States. In March, Trump imposed a so-called “fentanyl tariff” on all imports from Mexico and Canada that don’t comply with the USMCA.
The three-way trade pact will be subject to a formal review process in 2026. Consultation processes ahead of the review have already commenced in Mexico and the United States.
Sheinbaum has expressed confidence that the outcome of the review will be positive for Mexico, even though Trump has indicated that he wants to “renegotiate” the pact he signed off on during his first term as president.
The U.S. president is unhappy that the U.S. runs trade deficits with both Mexico and Canada, and has accused both of not doing enough to stem the flow of narcotics across their borders.
Mexico and the United States are each other’s largest trade partner. Two-way trade between the neighbors totaled just under US $840 billion in 2024.
With reports from El Economista, Sin Embargo and AFP
