FILE PHOTO: Mexican Minister of Economy Marcelo Ebrard attends a press conference after a meeting with business people from Mexico and the United States, in Mexico City, Mexico October 15, 2024 REUTERS/Raquel Cunha/File Photo
MEXICO CITY: Mexico is planning to establish a “task force” to involve US companies in the process of reducing imports from China, the country’s economy minister tells a group of auto suppliers at a private meeting last Friday in Detroit.
Careful not to “speculate” about what would happen todayday when US President-elect Donald Trump takes office, minister Marcelo Ebrard said the government wanted to pitch a task force that would include the “most important companies” operating in Mexico to assess how to respond to Trump’s next moves, which could include tariffs of 25% if he makes good on his threats.
For “our main goal, which is reduce the imports from China, we are going to need to work very closely,” Ebrard told the company representatives, according to a recording of his remarks, obtained by Bloomberg News.
“It’s not easy to replace such an important part of the components, but it can be done, if not 100%, almost in a portion – enough to reduce the growth in the imports from China.”
Mexico has been taking a variety of steps over the past weeks to crack down on cheap Asian – and particularly Chinese – imports. The move seeks to both strengthen local industry and send a clear signal of alliance to the incoming US administration.
The government last week announced a plan that would seek to replace imports from China with items made in North America, in a bid to align itself with its top trade partners.
The purpose of Ebrard’s visit was to “strengthen Mexico’s collaboration with the US automotive industry,” according to a statement from the Economy Ministry.
“The large US automotive companies require Mexico to be competitive against other blocs,” Ebrard said during the meeting, organised by the Detroit Regional Chamber, according to the statement.
Ebrard asked to wait for Trump’s inauguration today to organise an appropriate reaction. “Let’s see Monday and then we organise the reaction properly,” he said in the recording. — Bloomberg
