The Mexican mining and metallurgical industry is in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump , specifically for products such as steel and aluminum, which have been hit with a 25% tariff , and this sector is already feeling the brunt of the tax.
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) , Mexico’s mining and metallurgical production, which includes extraction, processing, smelting and refining of metallic and non-metallic minerals, stood at 71.2 points in February 2025 , representing a monthly decrease of 4.6% .
According to the Statistics of the Mining and Metallurgical Industry (EIMM) , production increased by 3.6 percent at an annual rate .
By product, zinc production increased 15.1% year-on-year in the second month of the year ; silver also saw an increase of 11.9% during the same period. Iron pellets and lead saw increases in production, by 9.3% and 7%, respectively.
In contrast, gypsum production fell by 0.5% during the period , as did fluorite , which fell by 0.7% . Other products and minerals that saw annual declines were copper, which fell by 3.6% , gold, which fell by 4.9% , and sulfur , which fell by 16.3% .
During this period, Zacatecas stood out in gold production with an annual variation of 35.3%, as well as in silver with 42.2%, lead with 15.3%, and zinc with 61.7%, detailed the INEGI.
According to the agency’s figures, this would be the second month in 2025 with negative production figures for this sector, as last January also saw a 10.2% monthly decline.
The Mexican mining industry has been one of the industries most affected by the United States’ tariff policy, following the 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports from the United States that went into effect on March 12.
In response, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) warned that the implementation of this measure would affect 4.7% of total Mexican exports and would also impact the value of imports by the United States from Mexico, estimated at more than $22.5 billion , with severe consequences for the national automotive industry.
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