Illinois Governor JB Pritzker will lead a trade mission to Mexico next week as President Donald Trump prepares a new round of tariffs for what he calls a commercial “Liberation Day” for the US.
While the trip was planned before Trump’s plan to announce new duties on April 2, the timing is likely to brighten the political spotlight on Pritzker, a billionaire Democrat who is widely seen as having presidential aspirations for 2028. The governor has slammed trade tariffs as a tax on Americans.
Next week’s Illinois delegation will focus on agriculture, food processing, finance and manufacturing, and seek to “strengthen our economic ties” with Mexico, according to a statement from the governor’s office. The agenda doesn’t currently include a meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, said a spokesperson for Pritzker, a Hyatt Hotels heir who has emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal antagonists.
Trump is set to enact 25% tariffs on autos starting early next month, a major threat for Mexico, which is the top supplier of US auto imports. He is also weighing the potential reinstatement of broader levies on imports from Mexico and Canada that he postponed earlier this month, as well as “reciprocal tariffs” on US imports from other countries.
Illinois is Mexico’s fourth-largest trading partner among the 50 states, according to the state’s commerce department. The delegation will have executives from real estate companies, United Airlines, Northern Trust, and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., as well as representatives from two utilities and state trade groups for soybeans, pork and beef.
The state’s two largest export industries to Mexico are chemicals and agricultural products, each totaling about $1.6 billion. Illinois has had an office in Mexico since 1989 as a way to improve business and government ties.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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