“We met at the National Palace with Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart Inc., and his team,” Sheinbaum wrote on her official X account on Tuesday. “They reaffirm their investments in our country and their commitment to joining Plan México.” 

Nos reunimos en Palacio Nacional con Doug McMillon, presidente y director ejecutivo de Walmart Inc., y su equipo. Confirman las inversiones que tienen en nuestro país y su compromiso de integrarse al Plan México. pic.twitter.com/cgBgx3q64p

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) August 5, 2025

Walmart is well-positioned to support Plan México. Of its 33,000 suppliers, 85% are small and medium-sized Mexican companies, and 83% of the products it sells in the country are made in Mexico. That fits nicely with Plan México’s emphasis on domestic production and reduced dependence on imports, especially from Asia.

Local job creation is also a priority of Plan México, and Walmart’s announced investment is expected to bring 5,500 more direct jobs to the 200,000 people it now employs in Mexico.

Besides the opening of nine new stores in its Bodega Aurrerá, Sam’s Club, Walmart Supercenter, and Walmart Express formats, the investment will include the construction of two distribution centers in the state of Tlaxcala and the Bajío region. These centers will incorporate artificial intelligence and advanced robotics to optimize logistics. 

The Walmart CEO’s meeting with Sheinbaum follows the resignation of Ignacio Caride as general director of Walmart Mexico and Central America last week.

Cristian Barrientos Pozo, current general director of Walmart Chile, will assume the position of general director for the Mexico and Central America unit on an interim basis while the company seeks a permanent replacement. 

With reports from Infobae and El Sol de México

The post Walmart executives back Plan México after meeting with Sheinbaum appeared first on Mexico News Daily

However, Mexico’s share of the U.S. market fell from 15.9% in the first six months of 2024 to 15% from January through June 2025 as U.S. imports rose at the global level. 

Mexican exports to the U.S. climbed despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to introduce new 30% tariffs on non-free-trade agreement (USMCA) goods — a plan that has been put on hold for 90 days following a month of negotiations with Mexican President Sheinbaum’s cabinet.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s imports of U.S. products rose by a significantly lower rate of 1.1% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, totaling $168.17 billion.

The differential in Mexican exports and imports caused Mexico’s trade surplus with the United States to increase by 16.7% to $96.21 billion, edging closer to that of China, which fell 12.4% year-over-year, to $111.48 billion. That surplus has been one of Trump’s pretexts for his aggressive trade stance toward Mexico.

One of the takeaways from the recent trade negotiations between the United States and Mexico was President Sheinbaum’s appearance of abidance to Trump as regards the trade surplus, even to the point of Mexico encouraging its nation’s companies to “buy American.”

In recent months, Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper imports and 25% on automobiles and certain auto parts from Mexico. He also introduced 25% tariffs on non-USMCA products, which could increase to 30% unless Sheinbaum can convince the U.S. president not to raise the tariffs by the October deadline.

After another round of successful negotiations, what is Mexico doing to achieve permanent tariff relief?

Overall, U.S. export and import levels both increased in the first half of the year, despite the imposition of tariffs on several countries, which encouraged many states to introduce reciprocal tariffs. U.S. global foreign purchases climbed by 12.7% to almost $1.8 trillion. Conversely, exports increased by 5% to reach $1.08 trillion.

Even with its reduced market share, Mexico remained the U.S.’s largest trading partner in the first half of 2025, followed by Canada (13%) and China (7.9%).

With reports from El Economista

The post Mexico’s exports to the US increased 6.3% in the first half of 2025 appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Among the other goals of the Comprehensive Capitalization and Financing Strategy are to significantly reduce Pemex’s debt and increase the domestic production of natural gas, a fuel that the United States currently supplies to Mexico in large quantities.

Federal officials presented the plan at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference on Tuesday, four days after Fitch Ratings upgraded Pemex’s long-term issuer default ratings and a week after the Finance Ministry announced the placing of US $12 billion in a debt offering to support the state oil company.

Sheinbaum told reporters that the government has carried out a “meticulous revision” of Pemex and created a “vision” for the future of the company, which last week reported debt of around $99 billion.

“What we have is a comprehensive vision,” said the president, who asserted that by 2027, Pemex won’t require any financial support from the federal Finance Ministry.

Finance Minister: Pemex’s debt to decline 26% below 2019 level by 2030

Finance Minister Édgar Amador Zamora noted that the Finance Ministry, the Energy Ministry, Pemex and federal development bank Banobras worked on the plan for the state oil company.

He presented data that showed that Pemex’s debt increased from $43.3 billion in 2008 to $105.8 billion in 2018, the final year of the administration of former president Enrique Peña Nieto.

Amador said that by the end of this year, Pemex’s debt is forecast to have declined to $88.8 billion, 16% lower than in 2018.

He said that the Comprehensive Capitalization and Financing Strategy, “through a series of efforts” and “operations,” will allow Pemex to reduce its debt by 26% compared to 2019, the first full year of the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The forecast Amador presented showed Pemex’s debt at $77.3 billion in 2030.

He said that the government’s plan, which includes supporting Pemex to make significant debt repayments this year and next, will enable the state oil company to reach a “very sound” liquidity position that will allow it to finance its own operating expenses starting in 2027.

Amador highlighted that the previous federal government, under López Obrador, (gradually) reduced Pemex’s Shared Profit (DUC) levy from 65% to 30%.

“That has contributed to a very significant improvement in the liquidity position, the financial strength … of Petróleos Mexicanos,” he said.

The name of the levy was changed by the Sheinbaum administration to Derecho Petrolero para el Bienestar — a tax on oil for “well-being.”

Sheinbaum stressed that the “well-being” tax on non-associated natural gas is just 12%, and asserted that the low rate “allows Pemex to capitalize.”

She said that in 2025 and 2026 Pemex has to pay “very high amortizations of its debt” as well as interest payments and will therefore require Finance Ministry support in the short term.

“But in 2027, thanks to all the work the Finance Ministry has done, Pemex will go out on its own; it won’t need support from the Finance Ministry,” Sheinbaum said.

Reuters reported that $5.1 billion of Pemex’s bond debt is due for repayment this year, followed by $18.7 billion in 2026 and $7.7 billion in 2027.

The 3 main pillars of the Pemex plan  

Amador said that the Pemex strategy has three main “ejes” (pillars or central tenets).

• The “determination” of the Derecho Petrolero para el Bienestar, set at a rate of 30% for oil and 12% for non-associated natural gas.

Amador said that the lower levy rates “optimize” (i.e. reduce) Pemex’s tax burden and incentivize the company to carry out “a very efficient productive investment strategy in the long term.”

•  Support from the Finance Ministry that allows Pemex to reduce its debt.

Amador noted that the government has already supported the state oil company to pay down its debt, including with last week’s debt offering and cash injections. He indicated that additional support will be provided this year and next, but will cease in 2027.

•  Monetary support to finance “productive investment.”

#Mexico: “Pemex Is at a Crossroads.” Recommended from @CSISAmericas senior associate @ignandez.

Mexico could be a net oil importer by 2030. “The key issue dragging Pemex is its $101 billion debt pile, making it the world’s most indebted oil company.”https://t.co/I9ps6o97Z2 pic.twitter.com/PQqN24fCGh

— Ryan Berg, PhD (@RyanBergPhD) August 1, 2025

Banobras general director Jorge Mendoza Sánchez said that a 250-billion-peso (US $13.3 billion) investment vehicle has been created to fund oil sector projects in 2025 alone.

He said that the “investment fund” will be financed by state-owned development banks, commercial banks and “the investment public in general.”

“… It’s important to mention that this action reaffirms the commitment we have within Banobras and [Mexico’s other] development banks to continue supporting Petróleos Mexicanos,” Mendoza said.

“… It will be an attractive [investment] vehicle and, in addition, it will have a guarantee from the federal government, which will make its financing cost very low,” he said.

Energy minister outlines ‘clear objectives’ of Pemex plan 

Energy Minister Luz Elena González Escobar enumerated a list of “clear objectives” of the 2025-35 plan for Pemex. They include:

• Guaranteeing “stable” oil production of 1.8 million barrels per day.
• Increasing production of “high-value” oil products (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) in support of the aim of achieving self-sufficiency for fuel.
• “Relaunching” Mexico’s petrochemicals industry and increasing the production of fertilizers “to support food sovereignty.”
• Increasing natural gas production.
• Supporting renewable energy initiatives in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

González asserted that the government’s plan will resolve Pemex’s “structural challenges” and set it up for a successful future.

She also said that “energy sovereignty” is “at the center of the second story of the fourth transformation” — i.e., achieving energy sovereignty is a key priority of the Sheinbaum administration, which says it is continuing the “transformation” initiated by the 2018-24 López Obrador government.

Mexico’s gas production falls short as US imports surge to record levels

Pemex CEO outlines ‘operational plan’ for state oil company

The strategy for Pemex over the next 10 years is “fundamentally” aimed at “increasing the revenue, reducing the costs and improving the financial profile” of the state oil company, said CEO Víctor Rodríguez Padilla.

He said that Pemex would do a range of things to achieve those goals. They include:

• Developing two large Gulf of Mexico oil fields, namely Zama and Trion.
• “Reactivating” oil production at fields that still have “potential.”
• Increasing natural gas production by taking advantage of the “resources we have both in the south and north” of the country.
• “Rebuilding the entire petrochemicals system.”
• Building three new gas pipelines that connect to economic development hubs.
• Resolving gas supply problems on the Yucatán Peninsula.
• Building “four cogeneration plants” in Hidalgo (Tula), Oaxaca (Salina Cruz), Veracruz (Cangrejera) and Tabasco (Nuevo Pemex).
• Improving the “marketing of the products we sell” in order to “have better sales.”
• Developing renewable projects, including solar and wind ones.
• Exploiting lithium resources.

Rodríguez said that Pemex “is and will continue to be a key player in the well-being and sustainable development of the country.”

The state oil company has seven refineries in Mexico, including the recently built Olmeca Refinery on the Tabasco coast. It also owns a refinery in Texas, and operates gas stations across Mexico.

Last week, Pemex reported its first quarterly profit in a year, even as crude and natural gas production declined in annual terms between April and June. An appreciation of the Mexican peso against the US dollar allowed Pemex to overcome a drop in revenues and record a profit in Q2 of 2025.

With reports from El Economista, La Jornada, Milenio, El Universal and Reuters 

The post Inside Pemex’s plan to reach fiscal solvency by 2027 appeared first on Mexico News Daily

In its second-quarter earnings report issued last week, SCC, a subsidiary of Grupo México, one of the largest copper producers in the world, said ongoing negotiations are designed to secure environmental and operational approvals needed to move forward with several key projects in the country.

“We are in talks with the current administration to continue SCC’s US $10.2 billion investment in Mexico,” it said in the report.

SCC identified several Mexican projects it hopes to develop, including mines in Angangueo (Michoacán) and Chalchihuites (Zacatecas), as well as the El Arco copper deposit (Baja California) and the El Pilar project (Sonora), which is a conventional open-pit mine with an annual production capacity of 36,000 metric tons of copper cathodes. 

The company also hopes to revisit plans to invest in a copper smelter project in Sonora.

SCC’s mines in Mexico produce more semi-processed copper, or concentrate, than its plants can handle, forcing the company to rely on offshore smelters. Before Mexico’s latest mining reforms in 2023, the company was considering spending US $1 billion on a new smelter in Sonora.

The reforms significantly altered Mexico’s mining regime, emphasizing enhanced environmental and social protections. The reform included modifications to mining concessions (reducing them from 50 years to 30 years, among other changes), water rights and obligations for concession holders.

Regarding fracking and open-pit mining (the latter being of interest to Southern Copper), the reform authorizes contracts and concessions at the discretion of the president, “due to their strategic nature for national development.”

BCS legislators call on Baja California to reject copper mining mega-project

Mining.com magazine reported that as of late 2024, “there were 116 pending environmental approvals with [the Environment Ministry] and 107 awaiting clearance from [the National Water Commission] Conagua.”

Southern Copper, with operations in Mexico and Peru, said its investment plans include an immediate expenditure of more than US $600 million by the end of 2025 in both open-pit and underground operations in Mexico. 

The company said it would spend roughly half of that to modernize infrastructure and ensure long-term viability. It would also target “water efficiency, tailings management and operational improvements to boost productivity and sustainability,” according to the industry platform Mining Reporters, which focuses on mining in Latin America.

The planned investments would go a long way in strengthening SCC’s position as a fully integrated copper producer, it said in its earning report.

With reports from El Economista, Mining Reporters and Mining.com

The post Southern Copper in talks with government to unlock US $10B+ in stalled mining investment appeared first on Mexico News Daily

After a 40-minute phone call with President Claudia Sheinbaum, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to delay the 30% tariff he had threatened to impose on Mexico starting Friday on products not covered by the USMCA free-trade agreement. Sheinbaum said the delay was the “best possible agreement.”

How Sheinbaum closed the deal on this week’s tariff reprieve: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

As the two powers try to establish a common solution to trade concerns, one issue at the top of the list is Mexico’s growing bilateral trade surplus.

“We are working on our trade policy to become less dependent on countries with which we don’t have trade agreements and try to buy a little more from the United States without harming our industry,” Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce at the Economy Ministry Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez told the newspaper El Economista. 

Over the coming months, the Mexican government aims to identify more U.S. product source markets for companies established in Mexico and encourage firms to “buy American” to reduce the trade surplus. 

“We are working to identify, by tariff code, what we import from Asia or from countries with which we don’t have a trade agreement, in order to bring in some products … from the United States,” said Rosendo. 

“If not only the government but also private companies stop or reduce purchasing from countries with which we do not have a trade agreement, and purchases of U.S. products are strengthened, without generating inflation, it is clearly a way to reduce the U.S. trade deficit,” Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference on July 25. 

Between January and May, Mexico’s trade surplus with the United States rose by 16.6% to a record high of $79.442 billion, marking five consecutive years of record-breaking surpluses. This was far higher than Canada’s trade surplus of $27.381 billion during this period. 

Almost 85% of Mexican exports fall under the USMCA, while a 25% tariff is imposed on exports outside of the agreement, with tariff discounts on automotive exports. This puts Mexico in a more favorable position than Canada, which now has 35% tariffs on non-USMCA goods. 

Rosendo praised Sheinbaum’s “cool-headed” negotiation strategy for encouraging Trump to delay the proposed tariffs.

Por instrucciones de la Presidenta ⁦@Claudiashein⁩ avanzamos en la mesa de negociación comercial bilateral con ⁦@USTradeRep⁩ instalada el viernes pasado. Con la participación de ⁦@Hacienda_Mexico⁩ ⁦@SRE_mx⁩ y de ⁦@SE_mx⁩ ⁦@m_ebrard⁩ pic.twitter.com/zrvaYqKqz8

— Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez (@LuisRosendo_) July 17, 2025

“It seems to me that what was seen with Canada’s differentiated treatment of Mexico is a reflection of the strategy each country has adopted,” said Rosendo. “From the beginning, Canada decided to take a somewhat more antagonistic role with the United States.”

In a letter in July, Trump told Sheinbaum of his intention to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico because, in his view, Mexico wasn’t doing enough to combat the trafficking of fentanyl to the United States.

However, Mexico has made significant progress in combating the fentanyl crisis in recent months, having seized large quantities of the synthetic opioid and dismantled over 1,000 clandestine labs where that drug and others were made.

Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente said that following the most recent call with Trump, Sheinbaum instructed the negotiating team to maintain and strengthen channels of communication with the U.S. government as it restores stability to its North American trade relations.

With reports from El Economista, El Financiero, El Universal and The New York Times

The post After another round of successful negotiations, what is Mexico doing to achieve permanent tariff relief? appeared first on Mexico News Daily

President Claudia Sheinbaum called the acquisition “a sign of certainty in our country, of confidence and of a desire to keep investing,” at her Friday morning press conference.

“I have spoken to Cox management and they are very committed to investing in Mexico and to the development of various projects,” Sheinbaum said.

Cox, an 11-year-old water and renewable energy company with a market capitalization of around US $958 million, will buy Iberdrola’s 15 power plants. The news agency Reuters said 75% of the deal will be funded with debt and the remainder with equity.

Reuters said closing is expected by the first quarter of 2026. Approval is virtually assured since shareholders representing 84% of the company’s capital have already expressed support for the acquisition.

In a statement, Cox said it will invest more than US $10.7 billion in Mexico between 2025 and 2030.

The company defined the deal as a landmark acquisition, adding that it “aims to leverage [our] established presence and in-depth knowledge of the Mexican market, reinforcing its position in high-growth strategic markets.”

The company said it sees Mexico as a strategic market “thanks to its strong legal certainty” under the new energy regulatory guidelines in the government’s Plan México.

La presidenta @Claudiashein indicó que la empresa Cox compró los activos de Iberdrola de forma totalmente legal y calificó de positiva esta decisión, ya que dijo, es un privado que está de acuerdo con las nuevas normas de México para seguir invirtiendo en el sector.… pic.twitter.com/kCKzqSttcr

— SENER México (@SENER_mx) August 1, 2025

Cox referred to Mexico as the second most-important electricity market in Latin America (only Brazil has a larger consumer market). It highlighted the country’s “solid macroeconomic fundamentals and an investment-grade economy underpinned by a responsible fiscal policy.” It also lauded Mexico’s banking system as “sound and stable.”

The acquisition of Iberdrola’s platform offers vast potential for increased penetration and growth in Mexico’s power sector, Cox believes, especially due to “a rising demand for energy” that is driving investment.

The company’s five-year investment target not only includes the Iberdrola acquisition, but also “more than US $4 billion in new energy assets, up to US $1.5 billion in water concession assets and the development of a hub focused on Mexican welfare.”

Cox said it also hopes to co-invest in new energy projects alongside Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the state-owned electric utility.

The company says the deal creates “significant synergies within its strategy to make Mexico one of its key business hubs in Latin America by integrating water and energy solutions.”

Iberdrola, a Spanish multinational electric utility which has operated in Mexico since 1999, announced its intention to sell its remaining Mexico assets last week, hiring Barclay’s Investment Bank to manage the sale. At the time of that announcement, the assets for sale were valued at US $4.7 billion.

The 15 power plants being sold — six wind parks, three solar parks and six gas and cogeneration plants — have a combined 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of capacity..

The acquisition also includes a pipeline of 11.8 GW of various renewable energy sources. Cox says 1.4 GW of the renewable energy projects in the pipeline are at an advanced stage of development and may start commercial operations in 2027-28.

Iberdrola began divesting its assets in Mexico, including a US $6 billion sale to the government in 2023, as it became a frequent target of then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s attacks. 

The Cox sale will complete Iberdrola’s exit from the country. 

With reports from El Economista, El Financiero, La Jornada and Reuters

The post Cox Energy buys departing Iberdrola’s Mexican assets for US $4.2 billion  appeared first on Mexico News Daily

After closing at 18.87 to the dollar on Thursday, the peso fell to as low as 18.98 to the greenback early Friday.

At 11:15 a.m. Mexico City time, the USD:MXN exchange rate was 18.94, according to Bloomberg.

The depreciation of the peso in early trading on Friday came after the publication of weaker-than-expected employment data in the United States.

Data showing that non-farm payrolls in the U.S. increased by 73,000 jobs in July — well below the 110,000 jobs economists polled by Reuters had predicted — raised expectations that the United States Federal Reserve will cut its federal funds rate in September.

In Mexico, the Bank of Mexico published data on Friday that showed that incoming remittances declined 16.2% annually in June to US $5.2 billion.

At 18.94 to the dollar at 11:15 a.m., the peso was around 2.2% weaker than its closing position on July 23, a day on which Mexico’s currency reached 18.53 to the greenback, its strongest position of 2025.

The 18.98 rate to which the peso depreciated early Friday represented a 2.3% depreciation for the currency compared to its closing position of 18.54 to the dollar last Friday.

As the peso lost ground against the dollar early Friday, the greenback depreciated against a basket of six major foreign currencies, as shown in a decline of the U.S. Dollar Index.

A bad week for the peso 

The peso depreciated on Monday to close at 18.76 to the dollar before appreciating slightly on Tuesday to end the day at 18.75, according to the Bank of Mexico.

On Wednesday, the peso declined to 18.85 to the greenback. It fell again on Thursday to close at 18.87.

The depreciation on Thursday and Friday morning occurred despite President Claudia Sheinbaum reaching a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday that allowed Mexico to avoid the implementation of a 30% tariff that was scheduled to take effect today.

Most US trade remains duty-free after Mexico secures a 90-day extension on Trump’s most recent tariff threat

The peso depreciated in July, ending a 6-month streak of gains 

The peso depreciated 0.6% in July, according to Bank of Mexico data.

Its closing position at the end of the month — 18.87 — was 11 centavos above the 18.76 USD:MXN rate at the end of June.

The depreciation in July came after a six-month streak of gains for the peso.

Here are the Bank of Mexico closing USD:MXN rates for the final trading day of every month since December.

• December 31: 20.88
• January 31: 20.69 (peso appreciated 0.9% in one month)
• February 28: 20.58 (peso appreciated 0.5%)
• March 31: 20.46 (peso appreciated 0.6%)
• April 30: 19.61 (peso appreciated 4.3%)
• May 30: 19.39 (peso appreciated 1.1%)
• June 30: 18.76 (peso appreciated 3.3%)
• July 31: 18.87 (peso depreciated 0.6%)

Even with the depreciation of the peso to above 18.90 to the dollar on Friday morning, Mexico’s currency has gained more than 10% against the greenback this year.

The peso, however, is significantly weaker than its strongest position of 2024, which was 16.30 to the greenback on April 8 of last year.

With reports from El Financiero and Excélsior 

The post Mexican peso loses ground following a weak US jobs report appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The Cuernavaca Valley Industrial City (Civac) plant, located in Jiutepec, Morelos, just outside Cuernavaca, was Nissan’s first production facility outside of Japan. However, beginning in March 2026, the end of the Japanese fiscal year, production of all models currently assembled at Civac, including the NP300, Frontier and Versa, will be transferred to the more modern Aguascalientes automotive complex.

Así fue el momento en que la directiva de Nissan anunció a los trabajadores el cierre de la planta de Jiutepec tras 59 años de historia La producción se traslada a Aguascalientes https://t.co/XN1BFkm9hC

@InfoAgenda_Mor pic.twitter.com/hakR1z7bTb

— @diario24horas (@diario24horas) July 30, 2025

This Spanish-language video, possibly taken clandestinely and posted on X, captures the moment when employees of Nissan’s 59-year-old Cuernavaca plant first learned that they will soon be out of a job.

“Today, we have made the difficult but necessary decision that will allow us to become more efficient, more competitive, and more sustainable,” CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation Ivan Espinosa said, adding that relocating production to Aguascalientes, the capital of the central state of the same name, will ensure the continuity of key models in a facility with greater technological capacity.

This decision is part of the global “Re:Nissan” restructuring plan, which seeks to consolidate production and optimize the company’s efficiency worldwide. According to the newspaper El Universal, Nissan plans to reduce its non-China global production capacity from 3.5 million units to 2.5 million units yearly.

Though Nissan is not leaving Mexico, its current plans mark the end of an era. 

The Cuernavaca plant accounted for approximately 11% of Nissan’s total production in Mexico and had produced more than 6.5 million vehicles since its opening in 1966, marking the beginning of the brand’s international expansion outside of Japan. Over the years, its vehicles have not only been distributed in Mexico but have also reached international markets, including Japan. The Nissan Tsubame was exported in 1993, marking the first model manufactured in Mexico and sold in the Asian country.

Since its opening, Civac has boosted development for the local community and acted as a benchmark for the Mexican automotive industry, which is why the move has raised concerns about the future employment of the plant’s direct employees. The company did not mention in its announcements how many employees will be affected, but the newspaper El País reported that figures from Nissan itself put the number of Civac workers at 4,800 in 2016.

Nissan says it is committed to ensuring a respectful transition for affected employees. However, it has not announced any specific plans about severance, relocation or retirement plans, leaving workers feeling uncertain.

Morelos Governor Margarita González Saravia and state Minister of Economic Development Víctor Sánchez Trujillo announced plans to meet with Nissan representatives to ensure compliance with  labor rights and to facilitate a fair transition. The action plan includes placement of employees in other automotive companies in the state, a special program through the National Employment Service (SNE) for new job opportunities, and support for entrepreneurship, leveraging employees’ technical skills.

In an interview, González added that her government will seek to bring in another automotive company to replace Nissan. 

With reports from Diario de Morelos and Merca 20

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President Claudia Sheinbaum and United States President Donald Trump announced that the proposed duty wouldn’t take effect on Friday after they spoke by telephone on Thursday morning.

“We had a very good call with the president of the United States, Donald Trump. We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow and secured 90 days to build a long-term agreement through dialogue,” Sheinbaum wrote on social media.

On his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said that his call with Sheinbaum was “very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other.”

“The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different than other Nations because of both the problems, and assets, of the Border. We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper,” he wrote.

“Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many. We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 Days with the goal of signing a Trade Deal somewhere within the 90 Day period of time, or longer,” Trump said.

Tuvimos una muy buena llamada con el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump. Evitamos el aumento de aranceles anunciado para mañana y logramos 90 días para construir un acuerdo de largo plazo a partir del diálogo.

Me acompañaron Juan Ramón de la Fuente, secretario de… pic.twitter.com/in3W4eAICN

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) July 31, 2025

He also said that “there will be continued cooperation on the Border as it relates to all aspects of Security, including Drugs, Drug Distribution, and Illegal Immigration into the United States.”

Status quo maintained; most trade with US is tariff-free 

The “25% fentanyl tariff” Trump referred to is a duty on non-USMCA compliant goods that took effect in March.

Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said this week that 84% of Mexico’s trade with its northern neighbor complies with the USMCA and is therefore tariff-free.

U.S. content in vehicles made in Mexico is exempt from the United States’ 25% auto tariff, lowering the effective duty on Mexican cars to 15% on average, according to Ebrard.

It was uncertain whether the 30% duty proposed by Trump would have applied to all imports from Mexico, or just those that don’t comply with the rules of the USMCA, the three-way free trade pact that includes the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. president didn’t provide any clarity on the issue in his Truth Social post on Thursday morning.

Trump informed Sheinbaum of his plan to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico in a July 11 letter. A common interpretation of his remarks in that letter was that the proposed duty would only apply to non-USMCA compliant products, and would have thus increased the current rate by five percentage points.

In recent days, Sheinbaum expressed confidence that her government would reach an agreement with the Trump administration to stave off the 30% tariff.

Last month, she proposed a “general” or “global” agreement between Mexico and the United States covering trade, security and migration.

It appears that such an agreement is likely to be reached sometime in the next 90 days.

‘We achieved a good agreement’ 

“We achieved a good agreement,” Sheinbaum said at the start of her Thursday morning press conference, held at the later time of 10 a.m. due to her call with Trump.

She said that she spoke to her U.S. counterpart for around 40 minutes, and was accompanied by Ebrard, Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister for North America Roberto Velasco.

Sheinbaum highlighted that the United States existing tariffs would remain in place and noted that there is a period of 90 days to continue engaging with the U.S. government in order to a establish a “longer-term agreement.”

She said that the deal struck with Trump on Thursday morning is “important” because existing tariffs won’t rise, at least in the short term.

Sheinbaum also said the deal “protects the USMCA” as the majority of Mexico’s trade with the United States will remain tariff-free.

“That is very important,” she said, highlighting that the current 25% tariff — the so-called “fentanyl tariff” — only applies to products made in Mexico that don’t comply with the USMCA.

Sheinbaum said that “within the new trade world order” established by Trump’s protectionist agenda, Mexico has “the best agreement possible.”

“… Investing in Mexico continues to be the best option. We have a very good situation in the face of this new international order,” she said.

” …Our strategy worked,” Sheinbaum said, referring to her government’s trade negotiation strategy, which included a commitment to work to reduce Mexico’s large trade surplus with the United States while cracking down on the production of fentanyl in Mexico and ramping up efforts to stop the drug reaching the U.S.

She said that her government maintained a “cool head” in those negotiations, which were led by Ebrard, who has made frequent trips to Washington since Trump’s second term as president began on Jan. 20.

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The announcement came during the presentation of the upcoming Mexico IA+ Accelerated Investment international event, scheduled to take place in Mexico City on Nov. 12 and 13. 

Backed by the giant technology company Nvidia, the event will serve as the primary launch platform for Mexico’s artificial intelligence project, including the presentation of its large language model (LLM). 

“AI is the modern alphabet,” Ebrard said. “Either we hurry up and master that alphabet, or it’s going to be a huge disadvantage [for us] in the new world arrangement we’re seeing emerge today.”

This AI initiative follows President Claudia Sheinbaum’s announcement regarding the upcoming launch of the National Artificial Intelligence Laboratory as one of the 18 actions outlined in Plan México. Sheinbaum has stressed that investment and scientific and technological development are a fundamental part of her administration.  

Meanwhile, Marcio Aguiar, Nvidia’s director for Latin America, confirmed the company’s collaboration in the Mexican AI project through training to develop specialized talent. 

“It is essential for the country to train people so that it can be more competitive globally and, obviously, position Mexico as one of the main players,” Aguiar said. He also explained that the model will draw data from Mexican culture and history. 

According to Ebrard, Mexico has two key advantages for the global technology sector: a young workforce eager to enter the industry, and 5.5 million economic units that can connect with this talent, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). 

Nvidia y la Inteligencia Artificial como prioridad en el Plan México pic.twitter.com/oodcKJHVIP

— Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) July 29, 2025

The government’s ambition is to make its AI project accessible to over 5 million university students and more than 5 million businesses, with the expectation of seeing “visible and tangible results” in two years’ time, Ebrard said. 

However, adequate infrastructure is needed to support this initiative. 

According to the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), investment in data centers could reach US $9.2 billion, potentially generating up to $27 billion in indirect economic impact. Adriana Rivera Cerecedo, director of the Mexican Data Center Association, told news agency EFE that this means installing more than 70 data centers offering colocation or cloud services.

Currently, the large language models (LLM) sector is dominated by companies like OpenAI, Google and Microsoft, all based in the United States. Other countries have developed their own LLMs, including France with Mistral, China with DeepSeek and Chile with LatamGPT. 

LatamGPT is intended as a collaborative regional project developed by the National Center for Artificial Intelligence in Chile (CENIA) and also supported by Mexico and Nvidia. 

With reports from Expansión, El Informador, El Financiero and EFE

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