Since Donald Trump became president of the United States and demonstrated his capabilities this past weekend with the possible imposition of 25% tariffs , Nydia Iglesias , director of Political Analysis at Banamex , considered that the negotiating elements that Mexico had to begin the process of revising the regional trade agreement , scheduled for 2026, have weakened.
In an interview with T21 , the specialist said that, in light of this, our country must assume its position, and pointed out that the threat of tariffs deteriorates Mexico in light of the review of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) .
“Unfortunately, I believe that the threat this weekend by the President of the United States regarding the possibility of imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada seriously undermines Mexico’s position in any eventual negotiation or revision of the treaty,” Iglesias stressed.
She said that the current US government would be willing to terminate the USMCA, since for her “that would represent the imposition of tariffs.”
“If the President of the United States is ready to end the regional treaty, then the positions of his partners, I am referring to Mexico and Canada, are substantially weakened when it comes to trying to find points of agreement regarding the possible adjustments that the northern neighbor could request to the current terms of the treaty,” he explained.
Iglesias indicated that on the other hand there is also the fact that even if there is no progress with tariffs for a very long period , Trump’s expectation of being able to establish negotiations not only with Mexico, but in other areas and with the rest of the world, from a position of asymmetrical strength, depends on his credibility to fulfill threats .
“It depends on the credibility of their ability to carry out their threats, and therefore, I believe that the countries that are most dependent on our relationship with the United States, such as Mexico, are their first target to signal that credibility,” he explained.
From his perspective, he considered that Mexico should take Trump’s threats “very seriously.”
“We must take the threats he makes to us very seriously because, even if they are for a short time, it is highly probable that he is willing to carry them out, even knowing that they damage not only the bilateral relationship but also very structural elements, both in terms of internal policy for the United States and the medium and long-term perspective of the regional relationship,” he concluded.
According to the Ministry of Economy , the T-MEC is the best business that the region has had, since, among other figures, it employs 17 million people at the regional level , generates approximately 3.1 million dollars (mdd) per minute and represents 30% of the world GDP .
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