President Trump on Thursday announced Mexico will not be required to pay tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement until at least April 2nd.

“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. This Agreement is until April 2nd. I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum,” Trump said.

“Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl. Thank you to President Sheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation!” he added.

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Per CNBC:

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC earlier that Trump was considering exemptions on Canadian and Mexican goods covered by the agreement.

The White House announced Wednesday it would grant a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the USMCA. Lutnick said one-month exemptions for more than just carmakers are likely.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his goal remains to get “all tariffs removed,” and his government was “having discussions” about possibly delaying a second wave of retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. Trump spoke to Trudeau Wednesday and told him that Canada’s efforts to stop the flow of fentanyl were “not good enough.”

China is standing tough, saying it’s prepared to fight “any type of war” with the U.S.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration paused tariffs on cars coming through the USMCA Agreement for one month.

From POLITICO:

The reprieve will apply to all auto manufacturers operating in North America under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement signed by the three nations during Trump’s first administration, the White House said.

“We spoke with the Big Three auto dealers,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through [the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement].”

The White House made it clear that its decision, which sent the stock market surging a day after a sharp sell-off sparked by the imposition of the tariffs, did not mean an end to the president’s abrupt decision to launch what amounts to a trade war with the country’s two largest trading partners in part to pressure them to do more to halt illicit shipments of fentanyl.

Auto trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico accounts for a large share of U.S. trade with those countries, which totaled $1.6 trillion last year. U.S. auto trade with its neighbors totaled about $345 billion, including $120 billion with Canada and $225 billion with Mexico.

Many of the vehicles and auto parts made in Canada and Mexico enter the United States duty-free under the USMCA.

 

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