Mexico City, Mexico (AFP)—President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, the United States’ top trading partner, on Thursday welcomed her country’s exclusion from the list of nations targeted in Donald Trump’s latest round of import tariffs.

Sheinbaum told reporters Mexico was spared thanks to her government’s “good relationship” with the US administration.

Mexico’s economy is considered one of the most vulnerable to Trump’s tariffs due to its close trade relations with the United States and their joint membership of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.

More than 80 percent of Mexican exports go to the United States, including about three million vehicles a year.

The Latin American nation is home to many foreign-owned vehicle assembly plants operated by companies including Ford, General Motors, BMW, Volkswagen and Toyota.

Trump has slapped a 25 percent import tariff on foreign-made cars and light trucks, effective from Thursday, though with some exceptions for USMCA-covered vehicles and parts.

The move prompted multinational car company Stellantis, which has plants in the Mexican cities of Toluca and Saltillo, to announce Thursday it was pausing production in Mexico, where it makes Dodge cars and Ram trucks.

The company has similarly announced it will shutter its Chrysler factory in the Canadian city of Windsor, at least temporarily.

– ‘Major achievement’ –

Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Thursday the USMCA remained intact, which he described as a “major achievement.”

He said Mexico would, in the next 40 days, seek “the best conditions” for bilateral trade in automobiles, steel and aluminum.

“We must always be thankful for the willingness of the President of the United States to engage in dialogue with respect to our country,” Sheinbaum said at an event later Thursday with business leaders.

Trump had previously threatened Mexico and Canada with a general 25 percent tariff on all goods, accusing its neighbors of allowing trafficked drugs and undocumented migrants into the United States.

Most have been suspended, but tariffs on Mexican goods not covered by the USMCA have entered into force.

About 50 percent of Mexican exports fall under the trade agreement, according to analysts’ estimates — coverage Sheinbaum wants to expand to 100 percent.

Her government is expected to present a “comprehensive” strategy soon as part of its so-called “Mexico Plan” to boost the economy in the face of Washington’s tariff onslaught.