Mexico's economy minister Marcelo Ebrard said the latest U.S. tariff measures will not alter the effective tariff treatment applied to Mexican goods, seeking to limit concern over Washington's announcement of new duties on a broad group of trading partners.
The U.S. government is moving to impose new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners as of Friday. For Mexico, Ebrard argued, the practical impact will be contained because a large share of exports to the U.S. market falls under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Goods that comply with USMCA rules will remain exempt from the new duties. Ebrard said that exemption covers about 85% of Mexican exports to the United States, leaving the core of bilateral trade under the same preferential framework.
A further 10% of Mexican goods has been subject to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a tariff measure scheduled to expire on Friday. The new duties are set to begin as that measure ends and would apply to the same share of goods, according to the minister's explanation.
Ebrard described the shift as a replacement rather than an additional layer of tariffs. His message was that the legal instrument changes, but the tariff treatment faced by the affected Mexican exports remains effectively the same.
The statement comes as Mexico, the United States and Canada continue to manage trade tensions within the framework of USMCA, where rules of origin and compliance determine whether goods retain tariff-free access. For Mexico, preserving that access is central to manufacturing, cross-border supply chains and export planning.
The announcement leaves Mexico's position dependent on continued USMCA compliance by exporters and on the scope of goods that fall outside the agreement's preferential treatment. For now, the government is presenting the U.S. tariff move as a limited adjustment rather than a broader change in bilateral trade conditions.
