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President Trump said on Thursday that he would offer a one-month exemption from tariffs for imports from Mexico that trade under the rules of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade pact he signed in his first term.<\/p>\n
The president wrote on Truth Social that he would give Mexican products an exemption until April 2 from the 25 percent tariffs that he levied on all products from Mexico and most goods from Canada earlier this week. The exemption would cover the vast majority of North American trade and follows days of turmoil in the stock markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, made similar comments on Thursday morning, saying that the president would most likely exempt all products that trade under U.S.M.C.A. Mr. Trump\u2019s announcement did not describe any exemption for Canadian goods.<\/p>\n
Stocks nudged higher after Mr. Lutnick spoke but remained lower for the day, with the S&P 500 down roughly 1 percent. The change would significantly expand a one-month exception Mr. Trump offered yesterday to automakers who import goods under the rules of the pact, which fell short of investors hopes for reprieve.<\/p>\n
Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Lutnick have implied that any relief from tariffs could be short-lived, since the administration is considering another raft of levies next month. The president has said he will announce \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs on April 2, which will raise U.S. tariffs to match the levels set by other countries, while also taking into consideration other practices that affect trade, like taxes and currency.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy expectation is the president will come to the agreement today, and hopefully we will announce this today, that U.S.M.C.A.-compliant goods will not have a tariff for the next month, until April 2,\u201d Mr. Lutnick said. Mr. Trump signed U.S.M.C.A. in 2020 to replace and revise the North American Free Trade Agreement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n