Mexico will learn its fate just after April Fool’s Day. Donald Trump has called April 2 “liberation day”. For Mexicans, it will be the moment they discover the extent of the economic damage that Trump plans to inflict on their country.
Much of the global economy will probably be hit by the tariffs America is set to announce on April 2. But the stakes are especially high for Mexico, which sends 80 per cent of its exports to the US. Trump has already imposed 25 per cent tariffs on both Canada and Mexico. About half of these new duties were swiftly put on hold. But they could all be reimposed next week.
Mexico’s fate is worth watching for two main reasons. First, the economy’s unusual dependence on exports to the US means that Mexico’s social and political stability are at stake. Mexican economists believe that, in the worst-case scenario, Trump’s tariffs would cause a depression in their country.