25/04/01
Mexican peso weakness may partially offset US tariffs
Mexico City, 1 April (Argus) — Volatility in the peso/dollar exchange rate may
help to partially offset any tariffs that US President Donald Trump decides to
impose on imports from Mexico as the ensuing peso depreciation would make its
exports more competitive, said analysts from US bank Barclays. President Trump
will announce Wednesday his next decision related to the threat to impose a 25pc
tariff against imports from its commercial partners Mexico and Canada. Trump has
delayed the decision twice, and it is likely that he will do so again, given the
serious repercussions the tariffs could cause to the US economy, said Latam
chief economist at Barclays, Gabriel Casillas, during a webinar held Monday. The
base scenario for Barclays is that Trump's administration will finally step back
from imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada and rather go for an early
renegotiation of the (US Mexico Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) this year,
said Casillas. In this scenario, the Mexican peso would strengthen to between
Ps19.5 to Ps19.00 to the greenback, he added. However, if Trump's administration
decides to impose the 25pc tariffs on all Mexican imports as he has threatened
to do, then the peso would weaken to Ps24/$1, said Erik Martinez, foreign
exchange research Analyst at Barclays during the same webinar. "If tariffs were
imposed, 25 percent on all imports, we think a good portion of this would be
absorbed by the exchange rate," said Casillas. A weaker peso makes Mexican
exports more competitive abroad. The Mexican peso on Tuesday was trading at
around Ps20.30 to the dollar, and has weakened by 18.5pc in the past year from
about Ps16.6 to the dollar a year ago. If President Claudia Sheinbaum's
administration avoids the tariffs, the peso may strengthen to around Ps 19.00/$1
in upcoming days, said Martinez. If the tariffs are applied during a brief
period or only for the automobile sector, the exchange rate could range between
Ps21.00-22.00 per dollar, said Martinez. However, even without any tariff being
applied, Mexico's economy is expected to grow only by around 0.7pc this year,
less than the estimates made late in 2024 of around 1.4pc, due to the
deceleration of the US economy, Mexico's main trading partner, said Casillas.
The US economy is showing signs of slowing down, specially in the industrial
sector, which will impact Mexico's growth for the year. Also, this uncertainty
is directly affecting any upside expected from so-called nearshoring as
companies would now lose interest in moving their manufacturing lines to Mexico
if there is no clear benefit in using the USMCA to avoid tariffs, said Casillas.
By Édgar Sígler Send comments and request more information at
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