INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The products concerned are for the most part agricultural goods.Mexico City: Mexico announced steep duties
Tuesday on a raft of US products ranging from whiskey to apples in retaliation for the "unilateral adoption" by Washington of steel and
aluminum tariffs.The Mexican economy ministry published a list of American products that will be subject to duties of between 15 and 25
percent, including pork, cheese and grapes.The products concerned are for the most part agricultural goods, but some metal-based products
such as steel plating and tubing are also included."Mexico has the right to take measures with equivalent commercial effects," the economy
ministry said in a statement explaining the tariffs.Mexico and other US allies including the European Union and Canada have hit back after
US President Donald Trump announced stinging steel and aluminum tariffs that came into effect on Friday."Mexico can adjust the composition
of the list of products originating from the United States," the ministry warned.The tariff increases are designed to hit areas that are
politically favorable to Trump, such as pork production, Mexican experts said.Mexico said on Monday it will file a complaint with the World
Trade Organization after Trump decided not to extend a temporary exemption granted in March to the EU, Canada and Mexico.On Friday, he
imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports from Mexico.The EU and Canada had already opened legal
challenges at the WTO.Canada said proportional duties would be imposed on US steel, aluminum and consumer goods from July 1, while Brussels
is also preparing tariffs on US products including bourbon, motorcycles and blue jeans.Mexico submits that the tariffs were not adopted in
accordance with relevant WTO procedures and also violate the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.The US decision, widely criticized
on the international scene, came as the US, Canada and Mexico renegotiate the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), at the
urging of Trump who called it a "disaster" for American jobs.The White House's chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Tuesday he had
informed Canada of Trump's willingness to negotiate a separate agreement to replace NAFTA, a deal which remains vital for Mexico which
exports nearly 80 percent of its products to the US market.
