U.S. President Donald Trump said in his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday that he will not stop tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico, and added that not all of them will be imposed, but many will be.

The Republican president specified that the tariffs on his trade partners in the T-MEC will be applied on April 2.

“On April 2,” Trump replied to the question of when the customs tariffs will be applied after he gave Canada and Mexico a month’s deadline in early February to find an agreement.

“I’m not going to stop tariffs, no. Millions of people have died from fentanyl coming across the border,” he added during his first cabinet meeting.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration had set March 4 as the effective date for the 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and non-energy goods from Canada.

Trump’s statement was made in the framework of his first meeting of the Executive, hours before Mexico’s security cabinet meets on Thursday in Washington with the head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio. The meeting is precisely to try to avoid the tariffs that, in the absence of an agreement, should theoretically come into force next Tuesday.

The Republican acknowledged Wednesday that the number of illegal migrant crossings across the border with Mexico fell drastically but attributed it to his policies.

The data “have been good, but that is also due to us. In large part, to us. Right now it’s very difficult to get across the border,” Trump said.

The fentanyl “is mainly coming from China,” already subject to tariffs, “but it’s coming through Mexico and Canada,” Trump said.

Progress against drug trafficking and migration would be postponed again: Lutnick

The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, assured that the Trump Administration could again postpone the 25% tariffs that the President announced for Canada and Mexico if both neighbors demonstrate progress in the fight against fentanyl trafficking and border security.
Lutnick noted during a U.S. cabinet meeting that Mexico and Canada could avoid imposing tariffs for another season “if they can demonstrate to the president that they’ve done an excellent job,” to which Trump apostilled that it will be difficult to satisfy.

Indeed, although Secretary Lutnick hinted at a possible further delay in the imposition of tariffs, Trump stressed that he is not backing down on the measure, and that he remains committed to imposing these measures, justifying them as a response to fentanyl deaths.

25% tariffs on the European Union on “Fools Day”.

On the other hand, Trump assured that his government will also impose a 25% tariff on the European Union “in general terms” and that it will affect “cars and the rest of things”. “We will announce it very soon,” he said, who already advanced these measures in the middle of the month.

On the EU bloc, Trump has denounced that the European Union was created “to screw the United States.” “That is its purpose,” he stressed.

Questioned about the date on which the new economic measures on Mexico, Canada and the European Union would take effect, Trump pointed to April 2, although he said he would like it to be a day earlier but that he is “a little superstitious.” In Anglo-Saxon culture, April 1 is celebrated as April Fools’ Day.

Source: El Economista

The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, presented “Plan Mexico”, a comprehensive strategy that seeks to consolidate the country as a regional leader in economic development, social equity, among other issues, and to place the country among the top 10 economies in the world at the end of her six-year term.

The Mexican President revealed that the plan contemplates a portfolio of US$277 billion in domestic and foreign investments, distributed in 2,000 specific projects. These cover key sectors such as textiles, automotive, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, agribusiness and electromobility.

“The objective is for each state of the Republic to have a clear project, with defined goals that promote regional development and the generation of well-paid jobs,” she emphasized.

Among the most important goals are to make Mexico the tenth largest economy in the world by 2030, increase public and private investment to 27% of GDP, and reduce the time it takes to approve investment projects from 2.6 years to just one year.

In terms of social welfare, the president pledged to reduce poverty and inequality in the country by increasing the minimum wage, creating 1.5 million additional jobs and promoting educational programs that link secondary and higher education with strategic sectors.

The President announced a calendar of actions for 2025 that includes the publication of incentives for the relocation of companies, the launching of a fund for small and medium-sized companies, and the construction of 10 new industrial parks. She also announced a reform to simplify investment procedures and a national digitalization strategy.

Source: Mexico Now 

The semiconductor industry is one of the key sectors for the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. According to Plan Mexico, the goal for 2030 is to double local supply in chip manufacturing, as well as to reach US$10 billion in investment, and the north of the country is a key area to reach these goals.

Initially, Plan Mexico considers the northern border area and the northwest of the country as two of the main industrial parks with the greatest impact on the sector, and this decision is no coincidence, as this is one of the most developed regions in terms of chip infrastructure.

Although the document emphasizes that the polygons are not limiting and more areas could be considered, the reality is that the north of the country already has the presence of multiple companies focused on the segment of discrete semiconductors and electronic integrated circuits, known collectively as SC-Core.

In this sense, the north and the Bajío are two of the most promising areas in Mexico in the SC-Core segment, according to the United States-Mexico Foundation for Science (Fumec) and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

According to the studies of these institutions, most of the investment is concentrated in Baja California, the main electronics manufacturing center in the country, followed by Jalisco, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Coahuila and Tamaulipas.

Within these states are distributed all the processes of the semiconductor supply chain available in the country, i.e., they have networks of clean rooms, design, manufacturing, assembly, packaging and testing, in addition to academia focused on the sector and research and development.

According to figures from the document Nearshoring of semiconductors in Mexico, based on the National Statistical Directory of Economic Units, there are 326 facilities related to the semiconductor segment in the border area.

Some of the most important companies located in this area include Foxconn and Qualcomm in Baja California; Amphenol, in Sonora; Foxconn, in Chihuahua; Celestica, in Coahuila; Lenovo, in Nuevo Leon; and LG, in Tamaulipas.

“The proximity of the Northern Border to the United States offers a geographic advantage that can be leveraged to participate in the semiconductor supply chain. This advantage facilitates the movement of people quickly and affordably, which serves as a basis for binational collaboration,” the document explains.

An example of this collaboration has been shown between Arizona State University, along with Sonora and Nuevo Leon, entities that have developed specialized chip programs to prepare young people in this industry.

Source: Mexico Now

President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a US $5 billion investment in Mexico from Amazon Web Services during her daily press conference on Tuesday.

The investment, which will be distributed over the next 15 years, is aimed at developing a new digital “region” in Mexico’s Querétaro state. With it, Amazon expects to establish Mexico as a hub for digital innovation in Latin America.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to train 400,000 people to manage the Querétaro infrastructure cloud region. This builds upon AWS’s commitment to developing Mexican talent, having trained 500,000 Mexicans in cloud skills since 2017.

“[The] new Amazon investment of $5 billion in Querétaro. 200,000 people will be trained and educated, it will generate an additional $10 billion for the GDP, and we will be ready for artificial intelligence. Plan México is moving ahead!” Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard wrote on the social media site X.

Plan México, announced by Sheinbaum and members of the Economy Ministry (SE) on Monday, seeks to attract $277 billion in domestic and foreign investment across 2,000 projects in the next six years.

AWS said the new digital region will help customers run workloads and securely store data via Mexico’s data centers. The company first announced plans to develop data centers in Mexico last February in response to the growing demand in Latin America for cloud services.

“Our commitment is to democratizing access to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, promoting a more equitable, innovative and competitive Mexico at a global level,” AWS Vice President for Latin America Paula Bellizia said during Sheinbaum’s press conference.  Bellizia also said that the investment is expected to support the creation of “7,000 highly qualified and full-time jobs” per year.

According to Amazon, the construction and operation of the new center in Querétaro will add about $10 billion to Mexico’s gross domestic product.

“One way to accelerate the impact on the Mexican economy is the adoption of artificial intelligence and we know that it is central to the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum,” said Bellizia on Tuesday.

With reports from El Economista, La Jornada and The Wall Street Journal

The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany are reinforcing their interest in Mexico, reflected in a growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

Among these, the Netherlands leads the increase with an investment of US$1.9 billion through the third quarter of 2024, which represents a 238% growth compared to the same period of 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Economy.

Belgium also increased its participation, reporting an investment of US$1.5 billion, an increase of 101%. For its part, Germany registered an FDI of US$3.8 billion, marking an increase of 34.2%.

The National Council of the Maquiladora and Manufacturing Export Industry (Index) notes that Europe is also focusing its sights on Mexico in terms of how to set up companies and how they can join the value chains, becoming suppliers to be incorporated into production lines and then export to the United States.

But Index points out that it is not a matter of triangulation, as is thought of Chinese companies, because there has to be a change in tariffs and a transformation in the product.

The data indicate that in all cases they are concentrated in the manufacturing sector, in the case of the Netherlands and Germany they are directed to the automotive sector.

From January to September 2024, the Netherlands registers an FDI of US$1.4 billion for the manufacture of transportation equipment, being the most representative; in second place, with a more conservative value, is the beverage industry, with US$204 million.

Germany focuses its investment in the manufacture of cars and trucks, with US$1.4 billion, and in auto parts, with US$1 billion.

Belgium’s record, for said period, only shows that it is for manufacturing industries; however, in the information of the commercial relationship of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an investment in beverages and tobacco is identified.

Regarding the type of investment, from January to September 2024, intercompany accounts, which are transactions originated by debts between companies established in Mexico and other related companies residing abroad, represent 71% of the total; reinvestments, with 28.3%; and new investments, with only 0.3%.

Source: Mexico Now

INA projects that Mexico will produce 127,500 MDD in auto parts by 2025, a growth of 2.42% over 2024. In 2024, FDI would reach 2,550 MDD, with electrical harnesses as the main component.

Mexico City, January 9, 2025. – At a press conference, the General Director of the National Auto Parts Industry (INA), Gabriel Padilla Maya, presented the sector’s growth projections for 2025, highlighting that the industry will continue its positive trajectory supported by its production capacity, a robust export environment and a favorable trade balance, due to factors such as the implementation of the Mexico-US-Canada Agreement (T-MEC), nearshoring, growing foreign direct investment and expansions of plants already installed in our country due to the growth in demand within the North American region.

In addition, Padilla Maya mentioned that it is estimated that by the end of 2024, total auto parts production in Mexico will reach $124,484 million dollars, which would represent an annual growth of 3.52% compared to the end of 2023. Similarly, based on current dynamics and demand expectations in the North American region, INA projected that auto parts production in Mexico by the end of 2025 will reach US$127.5 billion, which would represent a growth of 2.42% with respect to 2024.

However, he also highlighted the challenges posed by the trade scenario in 2025, with declarations on tariff policies that could increase export costs to the United States. Despite these challenges, the sector continues to consolidate itself as a leader in the global supply chain, demonstrating a diversification and expansion of the industry in regions of Yucatan, Zacatecas and Guanajuato.

Regarding the trade balance, the association highlighted that Mexican auto parts exports reached $90.9 billion dollars in the January-October 2024 period, with the United States being the main destination with 88% of total exports. At the same time, he explained that the sector’s imports also follow a growing trend, with the United States representing 52.3% of total auto parts imports, reflecting a positive trade balance of $32.472 billion dollars.

The Director General of INA highlighted the key factors driving the growth of the sector in Mexico: the T-MEC and its Regional Content Value requirement, which promotes the integration of the production chain in North America; 87% of the auto parts produced in Mexico are destined for export, with the United States as the main trading partner; the nearshoring phenomenon, which has attracted new investments and generated greater demand for auto parts; and the expansion of plants in Mexico due to the growth of demand in the North American region. These elements consolidate Mexico as the main auto parts supplier for the North American region in the coming years.

In terms of investment, Padilla Maya indicated that FDI in the sector reached $2.302 billion dollars during the accumulated January-September 2024, reflecting a growth of 18.07% compared to the same period of the previous year and, by the end of 2024, he estimates that FDI will reach $2.550 billion dollars, which would imply a growth of 25.46% with respect to 2023. He also highlighted that the investment outlook for 2025 is equally positive, with a growth forecast of 5.88%, reaching $2.7 billion dollars.

Finally, Gabriel Padilla said that, among the main auto parts components manufactured in Mexico, electrical harnesses continue to have the largest share, representing 19.50% of total production. They are followed by transmissions and clutches (10%), fabrics, carpets and seats (9.04%), engine parts (7.86%) and suspensions and steering (6.68%). Together, these products make up more than 50% of domestic manufacturing.

Source: Cluster Industrial