April 4th, 2025
1. US reciprocal tariffs do not affect Mexico
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the imposition of “reciprocal” tariffs against 185 countries, in response to what he considered tariff barriers to U.S. exports. The measures range from 34% to 10% and include nations such as Brazil, China, Colombia, Japan, Belize, United Kingdom, among others.
The White House has decided to exclude its USMAC partners: Mexico and Canada. However, the statement clarifies that two executive orders are still in force for them, which impose tariffs on products such as aluminum and steel, in addition to the recently announced tariffs on the automotive industry. In addition, for Mexico, the 25% tariff exception only applies to products traded under the T-MEC. The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, highlighted the “preferential treatment” that the country has received and stated that the government will work to lower the current tariffs for Mexico even further.
2. President Sheinbaum reinforces Plan Mexico to protect the economy
President Claudia Sheinbaum reinforced the Mexico Plan, presented last January, with 18 immediate actions to strengthen the domestic market, in response to the global uncertainty caused by the wave of tariffs. Among the actions included in the plan are to increase food and energy sovereignty, accelerate public works projects, as well as housing, and strengthen the domestic production of consumer goods, such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, fertilizers, among others. Likewise, the basic food basket will be strengthened.
The president pointed out that, under the umbrella of the Mexico Plan, at least 2,000 projects have been registered with an investment of $277 billion corporate dollars. All these measures will be reinforced through decrees to be published during the next two months. Among them, some will be published to encourage industries such as the automotive, steel and aluminum industries, which are being affected by the U.S. tariffs.
El Economista: Plan México reforzado apuesta al mercado interno
3. President Sheinbaum in communication with Canadian Prime Minister
President Claudia Sheinbaum held a first call with the new minister of Canada, Mark Carney, in which, she said, they talked about maintaining the benefits of the T-MEC and that it is very important to continue communication with the U.S. due to the importance of the integration of the three economies.
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s office said that it was a “productive” call in which the importance of “strengthening the strong trade and investment relationship between the two countries” was discussed. Both leaders stressed the need to protect the competitiveness of North America, while respecting the sovereignty of each nation, in addition to seeking to strengthen relations and trade between Mexico and Canada.
El Financiero: Sheinbaum revela que habló del T-MEC con el primer ministro de Canadá: ‘Coincidimos en mantenerlo’
4. Secretary of Finance is optimistic regarding Mexico’s growth
The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) presented to Congress the Pre General Economic Policy Criteria (PCGPE) 2026, in which it remained optimistic regarding expected growth in 2025, although it lowered its expectations. The agency expects the country to grow between 1.5% and 2.3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, when it previously expected a growth between 2.0% and 3.0%. This contrasts with projections made by the Bank of Mexico, which estimates a growth of 0.6%, while the OECD estimates a contraction of -1.3%.
Mexico’s public debt will reach almost 20 trillion pesos, the highest figure on record, equivalent to almost 52.3% of GDP, a growth in real terms of 2.5% with respect to the level at which the government estimates it will close in 2025. Although this ceiling could be exceeded in reality, as there is still a lot of uncertainty, warned Ricardo Cantú, director of debt and income at the Center for Economic and Budgetary Research (CIEP).
El País: México recorta su previsión del PIB para 2025 ante la incertidumbre por los aranceles de Trump
5. Remittances decrease during February
The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) announced that during the month of February, Mexico received remittances for $4.459 billion, which implied an annual decrease of 0.8%. This was during Trump’s first month as president of the United States, which also represented a drop of 4.3% compared to January.
This result was not seen for a month of February, at least since 2013, according to the institution’s records, which could be encouraged by the deterioration of the U.S. labor market; the depreciation of the peso and the fear of leaving due to the possibility of being deported, according to analysts. With this data, they added four months of consecutive contractions.
El Financiero: Remesas a México caen 0.8% en primer mes de gobierno de Trump; paisanos tienen miedo de salir