Marcelo Ebrard , head of the Ministry of Economy (SE) , confirmed that there is progress on the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum that the United States imposed last March on several countries and that affect the Mexican steel industry.
To date, eight meetings have been held with authorities from the northern neighbor on this issue, the federal official recalled, expressing optimism about the progress made in the meetings.
“I’d say we’ve had eight meetings on steel and aluminum. I’d almost say I’m an expert on the subject, but I’m optimistic. I can’t give you details because I can’t, but we are making progress,” Ebrard said at the National Meeting of BBVA Regional Board Members .
Following up on this issue, the Secretary of Economy indicated that he will be working with the business sector in the coming months.
“Right now, we’re working very closely with the steel and aluminum industries, and of course, we’ll be working closely with the business sector in the coming months. We’re going to have to cover many fronts and make many proposals. So, there’s going to be a lot of backroom deals,” he said.
Review of the USMCA and BBVA investment announcement
During his address, he also noted that formal negotiations for the revision of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will begin in late September or early October of this year.
“What I’m anticipating is that once this evaluation begins, we’ll begin talks. We’re meeting weekly. So, the sooner negotiations are concluded, the better,” he said.
He added that the three countries will evaluate how the trade agreement has fared and what objectives they will pursue.
“Keep in mind that Mexico has a free trade agreement with the United States. This country, the United States, has 14, 13 additional agreements, and our agreement is the only one today that has the condition that almost 90% of our total trade with the United States is tariff-free,” he explained.
Ebrard also welcomed the announcement of a 100 billion peso (mdp) investment—approximately $5.203 billion— by the financial institution BBVA, which, he emphasized, “speaks of confidence in the outlook for our economy.”
“We are very pleased with the bank’s investment announcement of 100 billion pesos. In fact, it is one of the main investment announcements for our investment portfolio. We didn’t have it planned, but we are going to add it,” he added.
This investment will be made over the next six years and will focus on technology and financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mexico.
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