Though the Trump administration and European Union have agreed to a deal that reduces planned U.S. tariffs, Mexico still faces 30% levies on goods imported into the U.S. If tariffs do take effect on Aug. 1, experts say prices for everything from produce to cars and trucks could soon be on the rise for U.S. importers and consumers.
Stephania Corpi, a Mexican journalist who produces podcasts with Texas Public Radio, says Mexican officials have been negotiating with the Trump administration to head off tariff increases. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: The president initially proposed these tariffs on Mexico this spring, but as we have all heard, delayed most of those. Have Mexico and the U.S. been negotiating on tariffs in the run-up to this Aug. 1 deadline?
Stephania Corpi: Yes. [Mexican] President Claudia Sheinbaum has been saying that there have been ongoing talks behind the scenes. A group of Mexican politicians has been attending Washington [meetings] almost every week to have talks.
Two of the main subjects were aluminum and steel, but now the agriculture issue is also on the table with the 17% tariff on tomatoes.
Tell us more about the issues that President Trump has with Mexico. What exactly is he asking for from Mexico beyond that, if anything?
Well, the letter that President Trump sent on July 12 was actually saying that Mexico hasn’t done enough with the fentanyl issue, crossing the border. Migration has been at its lowest yet, the border traffic, and there’s a lot of traffic of drugs still.
President Sheinbaum said that there have been many efforts and also they’ve been seizing lots of drugs and labs down in Sinaloa, but it’s not enough apparently.
Given the past backtracking on tariffs, is there any sense in Mexico that President Trump might put a delay on this latest deadline or perhaps backtrack once more?
Well, as you mentioned at the beginning, he did back down on the European Union, even though there has been some criticism.
There’s definitely some skepticism in Mexico. People remember 2019 when Trump announced similar tariffs, but he ended up backing down. So while Mexico is taking the threat seriously, there’s a lot of sense that this might be a political posturing. So we don’t know, you know?
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If the 30% tariffs do go into effect, what are you hearing about what industries might be most affected? And I know that there are a lot of Texans who are watching this closely in particular because their industries may be affected.
In Texas, the impact would be huge. That’s where most agricultural produce crosses.
The auto industry will likely be hit first. Many parts cross the border multiple times. They go back and forward.
And of course, agriculture is another big one. Produce like avocados, tomatoes, as I mentioned before, berries, they could see sharp price hikes.
Electronics, machinery and even construction materials could be affected.
It sounds like where we might see the biggest impact right away would be at the grocery store or perhaps as we shop for automobiles.
Seems that way, yes. And the thing is that I’ve been reading a lot of economic articles, and none of them is able to put who’s going to be paying for what. But it’s definitely consumers on both sides.
Lots of jobs will be lost in Mexico while groceries, yes, will take a big hit.
Are you hearing anything about these joint ventures? There are a significant number of companies with U.S.-Mexico joint venturing, and I’m curious if that’s been talked about much in the conversation around these potential tariff hikes.
Well, tariffs would disrupt these partnerships, increase costs, and delay production, definitely. This is why many industry leaders on both sides of the border are lobbying hard against the tariffs.
I think especially the automotive and aerospace sectors depend on this seamless cross border. The border has its own life, economic life, that we never get a grasp on it.
Correction: This story previously had an incorrect spelling for Stephania Corpi’s name.
