Mexico tariffs expected to impact 50 US states

MEXICO CITY/ZURICH-Reuters

Mexico’s Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on June 3 that the tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to place on Mexican exports would impact all 50 U.S. states and harm value chains, consumers and trade-related jobs in both nations.

In a joint statement with Marquez and other senior government officials, Agriculture Minister Victor Villalobos said the proposed tariffs would cause total economic damage to the agriculture sector of $117 million per month in both countries.

Villalobos did not specify at what level of tariffs this damage would occur.

Trump last week said he will impose a blanket tariff of 5 percent on Mexican imports from June 10 to try to pressure Mexico to tackle large flows of mostly Central American migrants passing through en route to the United States. Tariffs could reach as high as 25 percent this year under the plan.

Goldman Sachs economists on June 3 gave a 70 percent chance of the tariffs on Mexican imports coming into effect on June 10.

A 5 percent tariff on imported goods from Mexico, which last year totaled $347 billion, according to U.S. data, would result in a potential tax increase on American businesses and consumers of $17 billion, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimated. It said the number would reach $86 billion should Trump’s increase the duties to 25 percent, as threatened.

Swiss-China ties

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Switzerland about its close business ties with China, saying the neutral European country was exposing itself to privacy breaches if it let

Chinese companies help build its infrastructure.

Trump’s administration has told allies not to use Huawei’s next-generation mobile technology and equipment because of concerns it could allow China to spy on sensitive communications and data.

“The Swiss attach great importance to the protection of their privacy, and that for a long time,” Pompeo told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung. “But if you operate with Chinese technology, you supply your information to the Chinese Communist Party. There is no privacy.”

In the interview published yesterday, Pompeo praised Switzerland - which acts as a diplomatic conduit between the United States and Iran - as a country with deep democratic traditions, the rule of law and a similar view of how the world should work.