The President of the United States, Donald Trump, issued an order on January 20 for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to begin receiving public comments on a particular agreement. This decision has raised concerns in Mexico about the risk of tariffs being imposed by the U.S. administration.
To address this situation, Mexico's Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, is seeking strategies to avoid the imposition of tariffs. Ebrard congratulated Jamieson Greer, recently confirmed as the United States Trade Representative, through social media. On Thursday, February 27, Ebrard will travel to Washington, D.C., to hold high-level meetings with U.S. officials, with the purpose of continuing the bilateral dialogue and seeking alternatives to avoid the tariffs previously announced by Trump.
During the meetings, five categories of interest will be addressed, including tariffs on U.S. goods, taxes deemed "unfair" such as VAT, non-tariff barriers, exchange rate policies, and other trade practices. Specifically, there will be an attempt to negotiate changes to the USMCA before its scheduled review in 2026. Greer's confirmation as Trade Representative comes at a critical time as Trump plans to reactivate 25 percent tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada.
In his new role, Greer will collaborate with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in investigating the impact of tariffs on imports of goods, as well as proposing possible solutions. Greer's confirmation took place after a vote in the U.S. Senate with a result of 56 to 43.
