More brakes on Chinese investment and technology: This is how Mexico obtained the new tariff extension

Mexico has received a new breath of fresh air as it deals with Donald Trump’s tariff threats. The U.S. president has postponed a general 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada until April 2. This is the second respite that the governments of Claudia Sheinbaum and Justin Trudeau have received after promising a series of actions aimed at stopping drug trafficking, illegal immigration and Asian imports. Sources familiar with the talks told EL PAÍS that the new deadline is subject to the Mexican government delivering new blows to the drug cartels, to greater control over Chinese investment, and to the imposition by Mexico of 25% tariffs on Chinese semiconductors and microchips.

After weeks of calls and meetings against the clock between both parties, the most feasible horizon for the Sheinbaum Administration has been fulfilled: they have not managed to completely shake off Trump’s tariff threats, but, at least he has extended the grace period before applying generalized tariffs to Mexico, a measure that would affect more than 80% of Mexican shipments abroad. This month, the Mexican administration is expected to continue conducting massive drug seizures, arresting drug traffickers and sending security forces to the northern border to control illegal immigration. On the commercial side, the executive is expected to set its sights on Chinese investment in Mexico. In a second phase, the implementation of 25% tariffs on technological components such as Chinese microchips and semiconductors is also expected to take effect, as well as an accelerated review of the USMCA trade agreement, specifically the part that deals with the “rules of origin” of the automotive sector, which require that a significant portion of a vehicle’s parts and materials be sourced from North America to qualify for tariff benefits.

Trump’s most recent statements have been a breath of fresh air for Sheinbaum’s government, although the tariff threat has not gone away completely. The announcement of the new pause was made in response to questions from reporters covering the Republican’s Cabinet meeting. The Mexican authorities obtained the first extension on February 3, after a phone call in which they promised to deploy 10,000 soldiers on the border to stop fentanyl trafficking and migrant flows. On this occasion, the White House has not revealed what trophy it is demanding from Mexico to show off to its bases in the field of security. The unpredictable nature of the American president makes it impossible to rule out a change of direction or a new attack.

Under these conditions, a delegation of high-ranking Mexican officials traveled to Washington for a meeting with Marco Rubio, the head of U.S. diplomacy, scheduled for Thursday. Rubio and his counterpart, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, have been in communication since the beginning of the Trump administration, reportedly in a cordial tone and with the first contacts conducted in Spanish. Government sources told this newspaper that the Mexican Foreign Ministry has sent reports on a recurring basis on the progress being made in security and migration, such as the more than 13,000 arrests in the last four months of alleged members of organized crime.

With these results under his arm, De la Fuente is leading a delegation made up of Sheinbaum’s anti-crime czar, Omar García Harfuch; the Secretary of Defense, Ricardo Trevilla; the head of the Navy, Raymundo Morales, and the Attorney General, Alejandro Gertz Manero. The only member of the Security Cabinet who did not make the trip was Rosa Icela Rodríguez, head of the Interior Ministry. The trip is part of an effort to show diligence, as the Mexican government is aware that negotiations with Trump are permanent. It is also an example of how containing the U.S. president has absorbed the list of tasks and topped the list of priorities of the Mexican government in recent weeks.

The designation of drug cartels as terrorist organizations, announced two weeks after the first tariff pause, is expected to be one of the keys to the negotiation. Sheinbaum has insisted that the limit of cooperation against organized crime is respect for Mexican sovereignty, but one possibility is that Trump will push that red line and demand greater concessions. In addition to De la Fuente, all eyes are on García Harfuch, an official who is highly trusted by the president and well known to his American counterparts.

On the trade front, officials are also being mobilized. Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will travel to Washington on Thursday to meet with Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, and on Friday he will have a meeting with the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick. The agency indicated that the purpose of the meetings is to continue the dialogue and trade negotiations between Mexico and the United States.

“Mexico is promoting an understanding with the United States based on the premises that bilateral trade, under the USMCA, has been beneficial for both nations and that the Mexican and U.S. economies are deeply integrated,” the agency said. The Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, is already in Washington, leading the Mexican team that is holding meetings and technical exchanges with their U.S. counterparts.

Trump’s tariff threat is still active. For now, the president has postponed the general tariff that would put Mexico on the brink of an economic recession; meanwhile the implementation of a 25% duty on steel and aluminum, one of the vital elements for manufacturing and the automotive sector, is still in place. The tariff remains a tool, a weapon of the White House to keep the strings taut with its trade partners, including its main importing partner, Mexico.

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