Moody’s Analytics on Tuesday lowered its economic growth forecasts for Mexico for 2025 and 2026, in light of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexican exports.
The analytical arm of the credit rating agency estimates that Mexico’s economy will grow 0.6 percent next year, lower than the 1 percent growth forecast earlier, and expand 1.6 percent in 2026, down from the previous projection of 2.5 percent.
Mexico’s “economic growth will be adversely affected by lower trade, investment and remittances” while the financial sector will be shaken by risk aversion and volatility, Moody’s said in a report.
Trump’s policies on trade, immigration and national security will lead to increasing risks for Mexico’s economy over the next four years, said Moody’s.
Foreign direct investment will also be affected, while Trump’s proposed plan to deport large numbers of undocumented Mexican workers will hit remittances, the report said.
A decrease in the flow of remittances will contribute to economic slowdown in Mexico, as it will affect the consumption of lower-income families who mostly receive remittances, said the agency.
Trump, who will serve a second presidential term starting January 2025, threatened on Monday to impose a 25 percent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, two of the United States’ largest trading partners.
Mexico’s economy, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil, grew 3.3 percent in 2023, according to the most recent official figures. ■