US complaints will be resolved prior to USMCA review: Ebrard

Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard plans to address U.S. concerns about Mexico's non-tariff barriers before beginning a formal review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Regarding these questions, he said that the relevant thing "is to clarify, resolve, or clarify them before beginning the Treaty review. In other words, to a large extent, many of these points will help us later, if we resolve them or reach an agreement for the Treaty review."

On July 31, President Claudia Sheinbaum and her US counterpart, Donald Trump, agreed to a 90-day pause to halt the increase in tariffs on US imports of Mexican products that do not comply with USMCA standards from 25 to 30%.

According to Trump, Mexico agreed to immediately end its non-tariff trade barriers. "We will be talking with Mexico over the next 90 days with the goal of signing a trade agreement sometime within that 90-day period," Trump said at the time.

So far, neither administration has specified which non-trade barriers Trump is referring to, although the White House Trade Representative (USTR) publishes annual reports on this issue, breaking it down by dozens of trading partners, including Mexico.

On Ciro Gómez Leyva's "Por la Mañana" program, Ebrard said on Friday that there are "fifty-something" trade barriers not related to tariffs, which he cited, as examples, as concerns about new regulatory bodies like the antitrust commission, actions combating intellectual property, and the length of procedures.

Ebrard added that Mexico also has a list of requests regarding foreign trade, both tariff and non-tariff.

U.S. Customs currently imposes tariffs of 35% on Canada and 25% on Mexico on products that do not comply with the USMCA to pressure greater cooperation on fentanyl and immigration; 25% on light vehicles for both countries (excluding U.S. content); and 50% on steel, aluminum, and copper for both nations.

"We're going to try to resolve or clarify them by the end of the 90 days that President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed upon with President Trump," Ebrard said.

The USMCA entered into force on July 1, 2020, with an initial term of 16 years, until 2036. It is reviewed every six years. If there is no consensus, the treaty remains in effect, but it will automatically expire in 2036 if not renewed.

"They haven't presented it as a requirement; they're not handling it that way. They're telling you, 'These are my concerns, and let's use these 90 days to try to resolve them.'"

"And we've been making quite good progress, so I think we can reach a good point of rapprochement where those 50-50 and so many concerns aren't an element that hinders our review of the Treaty," Ebrard said.

Consultations begin in October

The official explained that Mexico and the United States will begin consultations leading up to the USMCA review in October, November, and some days in December. The objective: "To have a country-by-country and sector-by-sector assessment of how we did with the USMCA and what we propose to review. That's what the consultations are for."

One final clarification: "This doesn't mean it's being brought forward. It has to be in October, November, and December, and starting in early January, the review of the agreement will formally begin," with the agreement expected to be concluded on July 1, 2026.

In this regard, Kenneth Smith, an international trade specialist and partner at AGON, questioned on Friday why the Trump administration has not acknowledged Mexico's efforts by removing tariffs related to migration and security.

"I am concerned that the United States' intention is to continue obtaining concessions from Mexico (...) That we arrive at the review of the USMCA with the three blocks of tariffs on top (migration/fentanyl; automotive; and steel and aluminum) plus the additional tariffs that Trump plans to impose on semiconductors, trucks, turbines, copper, etc.," he said in a message on X.

If so, he added, the United States could argue that in the review of the USMCA, the starting point for discussion about the future of the agreement is not free trade, but rather the tariffs currently in place, and pretend they are permanent.

“Mexico should never accept permanent tariffs (or “base” tariffs, as Trump calls them), but rather insist that the solution for North America to successfully compete with China is to preserve free trade through the USMCA,” he concluded.