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Mexico and US will start talks March 16 on reviewing their free trade agreement

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico and the U.S. said Thursday they will start talks March 16 ahead of a review of the free trade agreement that has shaped both economies and kept some of their commerce steady despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s constantly changing tariff policy.

The bilateral trade talks are ahead of a scheduled review later this year of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the latest version of free trade agreements among the U.S., Mexico and Canada dating back to the early 1990s that have intertwined the economies of the three North American countries.

The USMCA has allowed Mexico to avoid much of Trump’s protectionist measures because many Mexican goods are covered by the free trade agreement. However, a number of products are not covered, including medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which face a 25% tariff. A 50% tariff on steel, aluminum and copper remains in effect, as does a 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes.

Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said on X that the first round of upcoming bilateral talks were arranged with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and that they would address issues related to rules of origin, increasing production, supply chain security and integrating economies to boost competitiveness against other regions.

Greer’s office said that, after the initial talks, the two sides would “meet regularly thereafter.”

Relations among the three USMCA partners have been strained over the past year by Trump’s protectionist measures, which have set markets and investors on edge. Ebrard and other Mexican officials have been regularly traveling to Washington and meeting with American officials to try to offset tariff threats.

Mexico and Canada also are holding talks to strengthen cooperation on trade and security ahead of the USMCA’s scheduled review, six years after taking effect.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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