According to a White House statement published May 30, the United States will impose a 5% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico beginning on June 10. This action comes from President Trump’s dissatisfaction with Mexico’s approach to addressing illegal immigration along the southern border.
The statement added that if Mexico does not take action to “dramatically reduce or eliminate the number of illegal aliens crossing its territory into the United States,” tariffs will steadily increase each month based on the following schedule:
• 10% on July 1;
• 15% on August 1;
• 20% on September 1;
• 25% on October 1.
According to the statement, tariffs will permanently remain at 25% “until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming into its territory.”
The Auto Care Association says members who import products from Mexico should be aware of these duties, which, unless action is taken by Congress or the president reverses course, will go into effect June 10. There has been no mention of an exclusion process available to U.S. companies.
Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner with $346.5 billion of goods shipped across the border last year. According to the Auto Care Association, auto parts comprise more than $55 billion of that total. Just a 5% tariff increase would result in additional taxes on these parts of nearly $3 billion, which will be passed on to American businesses and consumers in the form of higher costs.
