Washington, D.C. – Today, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk released the following statement in response to the Mexican Government’s decision to implement changes to its tariffs due to the cross-border trucking dispute:
“We are disappointed that the Mexican government has announced its intention to impose duties on additional U.S. products related to the cross-border trucking dispute between our countries. Mexico is an important U.S. export market and President Obama understands the economic pain that these tariffs cause for American farmers, companies and workers. Following President Obama’s direction, Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and I have worked with other agencies and stakeholders in Congress seeking to resolve this issue in a way that addresses safety concerns and upholds our trade obligations. We are committed to continuing to work with Members of Congress and our counterparts in Mexico to resolve the dispute and end these duties.”
Background
In March 2009, Mexico applied a first round of tariffs on 89 U.S. products. Today’s announcement indicated Mexico’s intention to add several products and reduce or eliminate duties on several others, for a total of 99 products. Mexican officials have not provided a list of those products, but expect to do so later this week.
