President Trump suspended tariffs for both countries after Mexico’s leader presented her security successes, and after U.S. markets fell and business leaders urged the White House to change course.
Natalie Kitroeff and Annie Correal
Reporting from Mexico City
When President Trump got on a phone call with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico on Thursday morning, he was firm: The tariffs were inescapable.
“The tariffs stay,” Ms. Sheinbaum quoted Mr. Trump as saying, recounting the conversation at a news conference hours later.
But the Mexican president pressed her case. She sent Mr. Trump a chart showing a sharp decline in fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border and told him that tariffs would make it harder to keep up the security collaboration that was, she said, “delivering results.”
By the end of the call, Mr. Trump relented, agreeing to suspend tariffs on Mexican goods.
On social media, Mr. Trump announced that at least until April 2, Mexico will not be required to pay tariffs on anything that falls under the main North American trade pact. He later extended the same pause to Canada, reversing the enormous 25 percent tariff he slapped on both countries’ exports earlier this week.
“We succeeded,” Ms Sheinbaum said.
The decision represented a huge victory for Mexico’s leader and a much-needed boost for the country’s sluggish economy.
Ms. Sheinbaum herself acknowledged that there were several forces that may have driven Mr. Trump to retract the measures, citing the business leaders who urged the White House to change course, the negative reaction in U.S. markets and her own country’s progress on fentanyl and migration.
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