Mexican authorities announced Tuesday their decision to impose a stiff tariff on US pork products; slamming the American pig industry with a hefty 20% tax in retaliation to President Trump’s recent tariff on North American steel and aluminum.
Officials in Mexico City unveiled the proposal in recent days, saying the tax would apply to US-produced pork legs and shoulders, which equate to approximately 90% of the nation’s $1 billion worth of American-made products.
“It’s a 20 percent (tariff) on legs and shoulders, fresh and frozen … with bones and without bones,” said one of Mexico’s top pig producers.
Both Mexico and Canada unveiled the new round of tariffs against the United States this week, slamming President Trump over his decision to tax North American steel products.
The Trump administration has signaled its willingness to reconsider the trade barrier, citing upcoming NAFTA negotiations as a key factor in whether they will repeal the tariff.
AMERICA FIRST: Trump SLAMS EU, Canada, Mexico with STEEL Tariffs
President Trump announced Thursday his plans to levy hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum on key US allies, including the European Union, Canada, and Mexico; making good on a signature campaign promise to help shield American-made products from foreign goods.
Despite the initial plan to exempt North American nations from the tariffs, the administration unveiled the new guidelines after failing to win specific trade deals with both Canada and Mexico.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the new taxes will be a 25% surcharge on steel and 10% on aluminum; adding the tariffs could be removed in future talks while renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.
“The European Union has already notified the World Trade Organization of plans to levy duties on $7.1 billion worth of U.S. exports in response, with the aim of collecting $1.6 billion in tariff revenue,” writes Politico.
“We continue to be quite willing and indeed eager to have further discussions,” Ross added.
TRADE WAR? Mexico Targets TRUMP Districts With New Tariffs
Officials in Mexico announced a new series of tariffs specifically targeting districts won by President Trump in the 2016 race for the White House; unveiling the taxes after the Commander-in-Chief imposed a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian produced steel and aluminum.
“Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the tit-for-tat measures would complicate talks between the United States, Canada and Mexico to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that underpins trade between the neighbors,” reports Reuters.
“A trade war is when there is an escalation of conflict. In this case, it is simply a response to a first action,” Guajardo told Mexican radio. “We should stick to the clearly defined battlefield, where the response is appropriate and proportional.”
President Trump announced the expanded trade tariffs Thursday, saying both Mexico and Canada had failed to make trade concessions requested by his administration ahead of future negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement.