KEY TAKEAWAYS
- President Donald Trump is delaying tariffs on goods from Mexico that comply with the USMCA trade deal for a month, the latest move in the White House’s back-and-forth trade policy.
- He said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the exemption will last until April 2.
- Trump is also considering exempting some agricultural products from the tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
- The back-and-forth on trade policy has generated uncertainty in the economy.
President Donald Trump is delaying tariffs on goods from Mexico that comply with the USMCA trade deal for a month, the latest move in the White House’s back-and-forth trade policy.
“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Thursday morning. “This Agreement is until April 2nd.”
The USMCA is the free-trade deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada that succeeded the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and was signed in 2018 under the first Trump administration.
The pullback on Mexican import tariffs comes just a couple of days after Trump imposed heavy tariffs against the country, as well as Canada and China. On Wednesday, the White House rolled back some of those sweeping tariffs, granting automakers and auto parts makers a one-month exemption from new tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
The about-face actions by the administration have fueled economic uncertainty and unsettled markets.
There May Be More Exceptions on the Way
Another reprieve for America’s trading partners from the punitive tariffs may be in the works: Trump is considering exempting some agricultural products from the tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico, according to a Bloomberg News interview with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Rollins said Wednesday that she is “hopeful” that the administration could decide on some relief for the agricultural sector.
Investors seemingly shrugged off the latest rollback by the Trump administration. Stocks rallied Wednesday after the Trump administration gave the automakers a reprieve but remained in the red after the latest announcements Thursday.