Mexico on Monday said it would place tariffs on nearly 90 US products after Washington cancelled a programme that allowed some trucks from Mexico to operate in the United States. There is to be an "increase in customs duty on almost 90 industrial and agricultural products," Economy Minister Gerardo Ruiz Mateos said in a statement.
Ruiz said the increase would represent some 2.4 billion dollars, but did not name the products. The US Senate decision Tuesday to cancel the program violated a section of the North American Free Trade Agreement that was supposed to have opened cross-border trucking years ago, Ruiz said.
"We consider that this action of the United States is mistaken, protectionist and clearly in violation of the (NAFTA) treaty," Ruiz said. The White House said Monday that it sought to work with US lawmakers to create a new cross-border trucking project with Mexico.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said US lawmakers and officials, along with Mexican officials, would work on legislation for a new plan "that will meet the legitimate concerns of Congress and our NAFTA commitments." Mexico announced the retaliatory measure nine days before an official visit south of the border by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.