Tariffs Hold, Clock Ticks: Trump Gives Mexico 90 Days to Strike Deal

President Donald Trump announced his latest move on the chessboard of international trade relations this Thursday. A pause, a 90-day negotiation period with our southern neighbor, Mexico. This, while the 25% tariff rates on certain goods hold steady. Trump shared the news after a productive chat with Mexico’s leader, Claudia Sheinbaum, on his social media platform of choice, Truth Social.

Despite this ongoing negotiation, goods from Mexico imported into the U.S. will continue to shoulder that hefty 25% tariff. Trump has tied this tariff, tighter than a Texas rope knot, to the pressing issue of fentanyl trafficking. The Republican leader further elaborated that autos would face a 25% tariff, while metals like copper, aluminum, and steel would be taxed at a whopping 50%.

Trump stated that Mexico would dismantle its “Non-Tariff Trade Barriers,” but he kept the specifics of that promise as elusive as a jackrabbit in the desert. Some goods remain safe from the tariffs, thanks to the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, negotiated during Trump’s first term. But the winds of Trump’s favor have seemingly shifted away from that agreement, which is due for renegotiation next year.

The Census Bureau’s data paints a clear picture: a $171.5 billion trade imbalance with Mexico last year. To put it plainly, we are buying more from Mexico than we are selling. This imbalance has grown like a weed since the USMCA, from a comparatively modest $63.3 billion in 2016. And it’s a weed President Trump is determined to uproot, alongside addressing fentanyl trafficking.

This is more than a story about tariffs and trade agreements. It’s a window into the complexities of international politics, the tug and pull of economic power. It’s about the relentless pursuit of American interests, but with every move on the chessboard, we must ask ourselves: at what cost to our relationships with our neighbors?