On Monday, Mexican officials unveiled a comprehensive plan to sustain the nation’s growth trajectory after narrowly avoiding a technical recession in the first quarter. Finance Minister Edgar Amador, speaking alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum at her morning press conference, stated that the nation’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) could increase by 0.7 percentage points if the plan is implemented.

Amador outlined the government’s strategy, which includes boosting the national content of government purchases by 10%, replacing 10% of manufacturing imports, and providing direct stimulus to internal demand and local producers. These measures are expected to create 700,000 new jobs annually.

In the first quarter, Mexico’s economy grew by 0.2% compared to the final three months of 2024, reversing a 0.6% contraction in the fourth quarter. A negative first quarter would have placed Mexico in a technical recession, defined by most economists as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

Economists have cautioned that Mexico faces a challenging path ahead, citing heightened domestic uncertainty, tight financial conditions, and ongoing risks from the U.S. trade war.

Cutting Imports

Mexico is introducing measures to combat what it perceives as unfairly priced imports of products such as steel, textiles, and furniture, according to Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard. The country will implement reference prices, or baseline values, for imports of furniture, toys, sports equipment, paper, and cardboard.

“Many times, importers provide prices below market value,” Ebrard explained. “That’s why we’re introducing reference prices, to prevent declaring prices below the market rate.”

Ebrard also mentioned that officials had reviewed the list of steel mills approved to import products into Mexico and canceled the registration of approximately half of them due to inconsistencies, irregularities, or non-existence.

“This measure aims to prevent foreign steelmakers from evading tariffs and to protect local producers,” Ebrard said.

Additionally, the government has penalized some textile manufacturers for abusing a scheme intended for exporting clothes out of Mexico. Later this month, officials will meet with textile manufacturers and businesses that rely on these products.

Source: (Reuters)

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