Mexican tariffs on US to cost 3 bln USD: minister

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Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Tuesday that the tariffs being slapped by Mexico on the United States would have an economic impact of three billion US dollars across a number of sectors.

"The value of the impact will be around 3 billion US dollars, the list built by Mexico clearly goes to that level," Guajardo told a conference of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

On Tuesday, the Mexican government announced tariffs of between 15 and 25 percent on steel and agricultural products from the US.

This included tariffs of 20 percent on imports of pork, as well as cranberries, apples and potatoes. Cheese and whisky have been hit for between 20 and 25 percent, while steel and aluminum products are affected by 15 to 25 percent tariffs.

Guajardo said that many of these products, such as pork and cheese, are on a sliding scale to allow producers to adjust their sources of income and gradually adopt alternative measures.

"Some of these issues will also have an impact on our allies. There are very important people in the United States who have pushed for a good NAFTA, including many friends in the agricultural sector," he added.

"We wanted to send a message that the impact will be contained...to give them time to express themselves to their own government...we hope to return to a situation of normality and find an agreement where everyone returns to the original position," he detailed.

Last Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that US tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports would be applied to the EU, Canada and Mexico from June 1.

Mexico promised to retaliate with tariffs of its own as well as to lodge a petition to the WTO to resolve the conflict.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency