Mexican Undersecretary of Foreign Trade Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez highlighted Donald Trump’s political narrative on Mexico and the USMCA.
At the North Capital Forum event held in Mexico City, the official pointed out the difference between rhetoric and reality on this issue.
Donald Trump’s political narrative
At the request of the US president, the Mexican government has increased its cooperation with the United States on drug trafficking and migration and has not taken retaliatory measures against the tariffs authorized by Trump.
Gutiérrez’s first comment: «Those of us who read the newspaper daily and follow the US government’s interviews understand the political narrative well. That is a level of understanding.»
Last Friday, White House Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spoke about Mexico’s role in the context of the USMCA review, scheduled for July 1, 2026.
“We are having conversations with the Mexicans to see how they can better comply with the USMCA, because it doesn’t make sense to think about extending the agreement when the Mexicans are not even complying with important parts of it,” Greer said in an interview with Maria Bartiromo at the Economic Club of New York.
According to Greer, Mexico is not complying with the USMCA in the areas of energy, telecommunications, and agriculture.
Extremism
Greer did not specify in which areas Mexico is not complying. Nor did he assess the extent to which Mexico is complying with the USMCA. He also failed to take into account that the United States did not comply with a panel ruling related to rules of origin in the automotive sector under that agreement. Or that it imposed tariffs on Mexican steel imports in violation of the USMCA, according to analysts.
Gutiérrez’s second comment: “When Ambassador Greer and President Trump say, ‘Mexico has not done its homework,’ we must understand very well who they are talking to, because (Mexico) is doing it.”
Gutiérrez’s final reflection: “That is a narrative that we cannot shake off. But what I would like to say is that in one of the most complex trade relationships at the global level, such as that between the United States and Mexico—many countries would like to have a relationship the size of ours with the world’s largest market—there are obviously many tensions. It is not that Mexico has not complied.”