Background on Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez and His Role
Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade at Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy, recently met with top executives from Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda in Tokyo, Japan. This meeting took place during a working visit from May 17-19 and amidst negotiations between Mexico and the United States regarding potential “discounts” on new automotive tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. Tariff Developments and Their Impact
In April, President Trump authorized a 25% tariff on auto imports from all countries to the United States. Additionally, in early May, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that an exemption from the 25% tariff on auto parts from Mexico and Canada is temporary, lasting only 90 days. Since May 3, 2025, the new 25% tariff has been in effect for auto imports from all over the world.
The Secretariat of Economy highlighted that Gutiérrez met with Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda—all significant Japanese car manufacturers with production in Mexico and exporting around 900,000 units annually, accounting for over 30% of Mexico’s auto shipments.
Recent Challenges Faced by Nissan
These meetings followed Nissan’s recent announcement of annual losses amounting to $4.5 billion and a plan to cut 15% of its workforce, citing potential impacts from U.S. tariffs. Furthermore, Bloomberg reported that Nissan plans to close two factories in Japan and facilities in four other countries as part of its restructuring and cost-reduction efforts.
Nissan clarified that these reports are speculative and not based on any official company information. The automaker mentioned consolidating Nissan Frontier/Navara production in a single hub, centralized at the CIVAC plant in Morelos, Mexico. They also announced that Renault would become the 100% owner of Renault Nissan Automotive India Private Ltd (RNAIPL) through the acquisition of 51% of Nissan’s shares.
Gutiérrez’s High-Level Meetings in Tokyo
During his visit, Gutiérrez held seven high-level meetings alongside Ambassador Melba Pría, engaging with key governmental and business figures. He met with Takeshi Akahori, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Takehiko Matsuo, Deputy Minister of International Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI).
One objective of the mission was to promote technological input diversification in Mexico’s value chains and demonstrate the trade opportunities available to Mexico through access to North American markets.
Key Meetings and Organizations
To achieve this goal, Gutiérrez met with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). He also engaged with companies from the electronics and auto parts sectors, including Denso Corporation, TACHI-S CO., Yazaki Corporation, Astemo, Ltd., Mitsubishi, NEC Corporation, OMRON Corporation, Sumitomo, and Daikin Industries, Ltd.
Key Questions and Answers
- Who is Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez? He is the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade at Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy.
- Why did Gutiérrez meet with Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda executives? He met with these companies to discuss potential impacts of U.S. tariffs on the automotive industry and to promote Mexico’s trade opportunities.
- What are the recent challenges faced by Nissan? Nissan reported annual losses of $4.5 billion and plans to cut 15% of its workforce, partly due to potential impacts from U.S. tariffs. There were also reports suggesting Nissan’s plans to close factories in Japan and other countries.
- What was the purpose of Gutiérrez’s visit to Tokyo? The main objective was to promote technological input diversification in Mexico’s value chains and demonstrate the trade opportunities available to Mexico through access to North American markets.
- Who did Gutiérrez meet with during his visit? He met with Japanese government officials, JBIC, JETRO, and companies from the electronics and auto parts sectors.
