Last Friday evening, the United States and Mexico reached a deal that will avert the use of import tariffs of Mexican goods scheduled to go into effect Monday, June 10. According to a tweet from the President, Mexico has agreed to “take strong measures to stem the tide of migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border” which will “greatly reduce, or eliminate, illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States.”

The U.S. State Department will be release details of the arrangement soon, and we will update our website with all new information we receive immediately.

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05/31/2019

Yesterday the White House announced that a 5% tariff will be imposed on all goods from Mexico effective June 10. This additional tariff is being implemented to push Mexico to address immigration issues. The additional duties will apply to nearly $346.5 billion worth of products imported from Mexico, including cars, machinery and agricultural products. If Mexico’s response to the initial tariff of 5% is not deemed sufficient, tariffs will be increased according to the following schedule:

• 10% on July 1;
• 15% on August 1;
• 20% on September 1;
• 25% on October 1.

The final rate of 25% will remain thereafter until Mexico “substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming in through its territory.”

The President asserts this action under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which has previously been utilized to freeze or block assets of foreign governments or nationals. Like previous tariff actions initiated by the administration, we would expect these new duties to be placed on top of existing rates of duty, including on NAFTA qualifying goods.

We expect a Federal Register Notice to be issued prior to initiation of these tariffs, with additional details clarifying the scope of the action, and will advise further details when they become available.