Mexico is weighing possible levies on Chinese imports as it pushes for a deal to avoid the 25% tariffs that President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on its goods before a deadline in early March.
A group of officials from Mexico’s economy and finance ministries is in Washington examining potential tariffs on goods from China, President Claudia Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference Monday. The Mexican leader added that her government is working on different fronts to reach “important agreements” with the US by Friday, and that if necessary, she would seek to speak with Trump by phone that day.
The officials remained in Washington following Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard’s meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick last week, Sheinbaum said. As part of those talks, the Trump administration told Mexican officials that they should put their own duties on Chinese imports as part of their efforts to avoid US tariffs, Bloomberg News reported.
Mexico has previously imposed tariffs on countries that it doesn’t have free trade agreements with, Sheinbaum said.
“We have to prioritize our commercial relationship with the US and we’ve asked the US to prioritize the USMCA,” she said, referring to the free trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the US.
Read More: Trump Team Said to Push Mexico Toward Tariffs on Chinese Imports
Trump has demanded Mexico and Canada both do more to restrict the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the US or face tariffs. After originally promising to impose the levies on Feb. 1, the White House delayed the duties for a month. Meanwhile, the US placed an additional 10% tariff on all imports from China.