US to 'indefinitely' suspend Mexico tariffs

Dive Brief:

The U.S. and Mexico have reached a deal to avoid a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports that was set to take effect Monday, June 10, President Donald Trump tweeted Friday night.
"The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended," Trump tweeted. "Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border. This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States."
The State Department released a statement saying the two countries would continue discussions on immigration issues, but said "further actions" may be taken if these measures don't work as intended.

....stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border. This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States. Details of the agreement will be released shortly by the State Department. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 8, 2019

Dive Insight:

The U.S. imported $347 billion in goods from Mexico in 2018, and a 5% tariff on all imports would have cost billions of dollars for companies across a range of industries.

Matt Leonard / Supply Chain Dive, data from Census Bureau

For this reason, many in the business community came out against the tariffs, including the automotive and electronics industries.

"Ever since the China tariffs took place, a lot of the OEMs and a lot of the supply base [started] moving to places like Mexico. So if you get a tweet like that ... it’s a big financial shock, it’s a big impact to the autos and the auto suppliers," former CEO of Ford Motors Mark Fields said in an interview with CNBC.

Fields was referring to Trump's May 30 tweet, in which Trump said the U.S. would impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports beginning June 10 and it would increase every month until reaching 25% in October.

"As the outcome of tariff negotiations is still uncertain, most organizations are not yet making large scale changes in their supply chains," Jeffrey Pratt, leader of BDO’s Supply Chain practice, told Supply Chain Dive before Trump called off the tariffs.