2025 Top 100 Importers & Exporters

By William B. Cassidy

For logistics manager Yuri Garcia, the confusion surrounding US trade disputes with Mexico, China and the rest of the globe increasingly resembles the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“ Every day back then, we were turning on our TVs in the morning to see where we were going, what are they saying now, right?” Garcia said during a panel discussion at the Redwood Mexico Cross-Border Logistics Council in Monterrey, Mexico, in early April.

These days, she tunes into the news each morning to find out which nations and goods are being hit with US tariffs, how high duties are going to go, and what may come next.

“ Are the tariffs on China going to be 125 % or 145 %?” Garcia said. The total tariffs imposed on China reached 145 % as of April 10, the date she spoke at the conference.“ You know tomorrow it’ s going to be something else, so you’ ve got to be prepared.”

“ You know tomorrow it’ s going to be something else, so you’ ve got to be prepared.”

Being prepared for the unknown in terms of tariffs and trade was the crux of many discussions at the logistics conference in Monterrey, where Garcia works for Japan-based Nidec Motor Corp.

Nidec produces industrial motors and generators, moving about 800 shipments a month across the US-Mexico border in both directions. Nidec also imports goods to Mexico from Europe and Asia, including China.

Knowing precisely what products and nations are being affected or targeted by tariffs is critical to planning and preparation for shippers with suppliers and customers in several international markets, not just the US and Mexico.

Goods produced in Mexico typically contain components from multiple countries. Measuring the exact percentage of inputs from each international source is key to knowing whether a shipment will enter the US duty-free or face a 25 % import tax.

“ Right now, we have a lot of suppliers in Asia, so we have to have some other sources,” said Garcia. Nidec isn’ t looking to drop any suppliers, she said, but it needs to add some alternative vendors in the US and in Mexico to its portfolio.

Diversifying sourcing

The same issue is hitting manufacturers in Mexico across industrial sectors, speakers and sources at the Redwood Mexico event told the Journal of Commerce.

“ We’ ve done a little more exploring to give ourselves more options,” said Bill Fogt, senior vice president at Dometic, a maker of outdoor products, including Igloo coolers. Based in Sweden, Dometic has 23 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries, with two factories in Mexico. Expecting change in the“ supply chain climate” to accelerate, Dometic is leaning into its existing supplier relationships.“ We want to be very close to our suppliers, whether in logistics or raw materials,” Fogt said.

Maintaining close communications with suppliers, partners and customers is key to making sure US imports are compliant with the rules of origin in the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement( USMCA) to avoid the Trump administration’ s 25 % tariff.

“ You need to keep your paper trail carefully, and make sure you’ re adjusting for any changes” in components and global supply, said trade attorney Luis Martinez, a partner at Abogados Martinez Serna S. C. and a board member of the US Mexico Bar Association.

Martinez urged shippers to audit the procedures they use to verify USMCA compliance.“ A lot of companies do it yearly, but I know companies that do reviews every month,” he said.

Daikin, a maker of air conditioners and refrigeration equipment, is planning for potentially abrupt transportation and sourcing changes caused by tariffs, said Joe McAbee, the company’ s vice president of domestic and international transportation.

“ We have manufacturing around the world, and so we can, to some degree, shift our production, although not quickly,” McAbee said in Monterrey. But he advised caution.“ Every day is a new dynamic,” he said.“ Every time a new tariff drops, your strategy changes. I think it’ s important to let this play out and see where it’ s going to go, because at some point it has to level out. We can’ t live in this continual chaos forever.”

email: bill. cassidy @ spglobal. com

86 Journal of Commerce | May 5, 2025 www. joc. com