The president of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin), Alejandro Malagón, stated on August 6 that more than $100 billion in investments remain on hold due to a lack of commercial certainty. According to Milenio, Malagón assured that the projects have not been cancelled or moved out of the country; they are simply waiting for greater clarity on what lies ahead.
The figure comes as Mexico, the United States, and Canada renegotiate the USMCA, with the export sector watching the review calendar closely. The third round produced progress and greater clarity on the issues still on the table, including Section 232 on steel and aluminum, auto parts, and the automotive sector, Malagón explained. According to El Universal, the U.S. government's decision to keep the treaty in force for ten more years reassured the sector by ruling out a rupture. For exporting companies, which employ Mexican and Latino communities across all three countries, the review determines when to release projects that are already planned.
The industrial leader clarified that the shift from the temporary measure under Section 122 to Section 301 in the United States did not change conditions for Mexico, which maintains a 10 percent tariff on its exports. What does concern the sector, he said, are tariffs of up to 50 percent on steel and aluminum and 25 percent on the automotive sector. The next round of negotiations is scheduled for the first days of September, to advance the Section 301 review. Industry is seeking to close as many agreements as possible between now and December, with the goal of having at least 80 percent of the treaty's foundational provisions move into a continuity review. For 2027, the governments of Mexico and the United States agreed to negotiate rules of origin and import substitution. Malagón said that closing the outstanding issues this year is also the objective being pursued by the President and Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard.
The next round, scheduled for the first days of September, will signal whether those investments begin to be released before year's end. That date is the one being watched by companies in all three countries.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.