How tariffs and judicial overhaul are cooling Mexico’s economy

By Eduardo García, Alfredo Corchado & Alyda Muela | Edited by Dudley Althaus

EL PASO, Texas — A growing wave of uncertainty is freezing investment plans in Mexico, the United States’ largest trading partner, rattling domestic and foreign business leaders alike.

Investors weigh President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Mexican-made cars, steel, aluminum, metal parts, and tomatoes. And they’re pondering Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s push to overhaul the country’s judiciary in ways critics say undermine legal certainty and could roll back democratic gains.

No wonder they are increasingly unsure how to proceed. Plans to launch new operations in Mexico — or expand existing ones — are being reconsidered, postponed, or quietly shelved.

The economic effects increasingly ra