Ebrard says Democratic election win will not change U.S. tariff policy toward Mexico, Digi Mart USA News: Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, said Wednesday, November 4, that a Democratic victory in the U.S. elections will not change tariff policy toward Mexico.
He stressed that the power to impose tariffs rests mainly with President Donald Trump, so the new composition of the House of Representatives and the Senate does not automatically change tariffs.
“Authority over tariffs belongs, or is largely held, by the president, so that does not change,” Ebrard said. He distinguished between tariff policy and the review of the Mexico-United States-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a process in which modifications could be agreed, although he said none has been proposed so far.
“The treaty may change, but it is too early to say,” he commented. Ebrard recalled that Mexico and the United States agreed to extend the USMCA through 2036 with annual reviews, which avoided the worst scenario of the agreement ceasing to be in force.
The 2026 review is not yet concluded, as a fourth round of talks remains pending and was postponed until after the Tuesday, November 3 elections. “It is very costly to put a tariff on something because you are going to hit one of their companies,” he argued, noting that tariffs affect U.S.
companies that maintain operations and supply chains integrated with Mexico.
The article notes that such dynamics could also lead to agreements between the two parties with far-reaching economic effects, since some of Trump’s positions coincide with Democratic priorities, and that deadlines to avoid crises, such as a debt default or government shutdown, can encourage compromise.
After the decisive midterm results, the article says it is very unlikely that attempts to pass major legislation will succeed before the current Republican-controlled Congress ends its work at year’s end. Lawmakers would likely opt for a temporary funding measure to avoid a government shutdown, postponing confrontation until spring, while the debt ceiling issue would be left for next year.
The article adds that the electoral setback makes it even less likely that the Republican majority in the House, which is narrow and marked by internal divisions, will unite around a partisan budget proposal. Democrats are expected to prefer waiting until next year, when they will have greater negotiating leverage.
Republicans in the Senate are expected to focus on confirming as many judicial and administrative nominations as possible before losing their majority, and there is widespread expectation in Washington about a possible retirement of a Supreme Court justice.
Areas considered favorable for agreements in Congress next year include eliminating the debt ceiling, increasing defense and domestic agency spending, renewing Obamacare subsidies, limiting prescription drug prices, and reducing tariffs, which the article says have contributed to driving up inflation, through a series of new trade agreements.
