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Division
of Investment and Export
PO Box 7970
Madison, WI 53707-7970
USA
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Vol.
8 #4, March 2009
Mexico Raises Tariffs in NAFTA Dispute
On March 18, the Mexican government announced higher tariff rates would
be applied to 90 product categories imported from the United States
effective March 19. The Mexican government estimated the value of
the affected product categories to be at $2.4 billion. Click
here
for the list of product categories by tariff classification code.
The higher tariffs, ranging from 10 to 45 percent, are in apparent
retaliation to the U.S. decision to cancel a pilot program that allowed
some Mexican trucks to transport goods within the United States.
The pilot program was established in 2007, but the recent budget bill
eliminated it. The United States agreed to allow Mexican trucks
to start using U.S. highways by 1995 when it signed the NAFTA pact with
Canada and Mexico three years earlier. Until the pilot program
was initiated, Mexican trucks were confined to border zones where they
had to offload goods to be carried by U.S. trucking companies.
The Obama administration, without a confirmed Commerce Secretary in
place, nor having named a U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, is facing its
first serious trade dispute. President Obama has stated he will
work to put in place new legislation allowing the pilot program to move
forward, and has directed the Department of Transportation, the State
Department, and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office to
coordinate the effort.
Mexico is Wisconsin’s second largest export market, after
Canada. Exports to Mexico in 2008 were $1.8 billion, up 19
percent from 2007.
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