President Trump said on Thursday that he would offer a one-month exemption from the rates for import from Mexico that trade under the rules of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, the trading pact signed by Mr Trump in his first term.
The president wrote about Truth Social that he would exempt Mexican products until 2 April of the 25 percent rates that he raised earlier this week on all products from Mexico and most goods from Canada. The exemption would cover the vast majority of North -American trade and follows days of unrest on the stock markets.
“After I had spoken with President Claudia Sheinbaum from Mexico, I agree that Mexico will not be obliged to pay rates about something that falls under the USMCA agreement,” he wrote.
“Our relationship has been very good, and we work hard, together, on the border, both in terms of stopping illegal aliens to enter the United States and also stop Fentanyl,” he added.
Howard Lutnick, the commercial secretary, made similar comments on Thursday morning and said that the president would probably exempt all products that trade under the announcement of USMCA Trump did not describe an exemption for Canadian goods.
Stocks hit higher after Mr. Lutnick spoke but remained lower for the day, with the S&P 500 about 1 percent down. The change would considerably expand an exception of a month that Mr Trump offered yesterday to car manufacturers who import goods according to the rules of the Pact, which did not meet investors for delay.
Both Mr Trump and Mr Lutnick have implied that any relief of rates can be of short duration, because the administration is considering a series of taxes again next month. The president said that on 2 April he will announce 'reciprocal' rates that will increase American rates to match the levels that are determined by other countries, while also taking into account other practices that influence trade, such as taxes and currencies.
“My expectation is that the president will come to the agreement today, and hopefully we will announce this today that USMCA-compliant goods will not have a rate for the following month until 2 April,” Mr Lutnick said. Mr. Trump signed USMCA in 2020 to replace and revise the North -American free trade agreement.
