Following a telephonic conversation with his Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum, US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the two nations would enter a 90-day negotiation window, though the existing 25 per cent tariffs will stay in place for now.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump said his phone conversation with Sheinbaum was “very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other.”
“The complexities of a deal with Mexico are somewhat different than other nations because of both the problems, and assets, of the border. We have agreed to extend, for a 90 day period, the exact same deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% fentanyl tariff, 25% tariff on cars, and 50% tariff on steel, aluminium, and copper,” he said.
“Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its non tariff trade barriers, of which there were many. We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 days with the goal of signing a trade deal somewhere within the 90 day period of time, or longer,” the US President added further.
Trump stated that there will be continued cooperation on the border as it relates to all aspects of security, including drugs, drug distribution, and illegal immigration into the United States.
Census Bureau figures show that the US ran a $171.5 billion trade imbalance with Mexico last year, according to a report by Associated Press. That means the US bought more goods from Mexico than it sold to the country.
The imbalance with Mexico has grown in the aftermath of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as it was only $63.3 billion in 2016, the year before Trump started his first term in office.
Besides addressing fentanyl trafficking, Trump has made it a goal to close the trade gap.
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