US President Donald Trump during a speech on July 16, 2026 Saul Loeb/Pool via AP The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) in the United States has boosted Mexican exports of high-tech equipment. The increase comes at a time when Donald Trump's government is trying to reduce the country's dependence on partners in the North American free trade agreement, the T-MEC. ?Download the g1 app to see news in real time and for free Trump is pushing for a reformulation of the treaty to reduce the American trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. However, the strong growth in Mexican exports of computer equipment has produced the opposite effect. By expanding Mexico's trade surplus, the sector increases tension for a new round of T-MEC negotiations, which begins this Tuesday (21), in Mexico City. Between January and April, Mexico tripled sales of this equipment to the United States compared to the same period in 2025. Exports exceeded US$50 billion — around R$254 billion, at current prices —, while imports totaled US$2.23 billion, or R$11.3 billion, according to AFP calculations based on official data. Government prepares aid in stages for companies affected by tariffs. The sector already accounts for more than 30% of Mexican exports to the United States, the country's main trading partner. With this, it overtook the automobile industry, which for years was the biggest beneficiary of the T-MEC and is now affected by the tariffs imposed by Trump. “It is a milestone, largely due to the demand from the advanced electronics industry linked to AI,” Diego Flores, responsible for electronics and digital industries at the Mexican Secretariat of Economy, told AFP. The segment, which includes technologies such as processing units and equipment for data centers, is not on the agenda for this round of negotiations. High demand Among the most sought after products are the chassis that house the AI ??processing boards, essential components for the data centers that are mushrooming in American states such as Arizona and Texas. The main export hub is Jalisco, known as the “Mexican Silicon Valley”. The state brings together large global companies in the sector and an ecosystem of startups, according to Flores. Taiwanese Foxconn assembles chassis in Jalisco and is a strategic partner of American chip manufacturer Nvidia. In March, the company announced investments of US$137 million — approximately R$697 million — in two Mexican subsidiaries, after estimating that its production could double this year. “The United States and Mexico will continue to be our main production centers,” said the company's executive director, Michael Chiang. He announced that the company will invest 30% more than in 2025 to expand its capacity linked to artificial intelligence. With the explosion in demand, Flextronics, another company in the sector based in Jalisco, needed to use parking areas to expand its production capacity, according to Flores. Growth, however, occurs amid an uncertain political scenario. The Trump administration rejected the extension of the T-MEC for another 16 years and decided to subject the agreement to annual reviews. Furthermore, the American government insists that more products be manufactured in the United States, even as it continues to increase dependence on imports from Mexico, Taiwan and China to drive the advancement of artificial intelligence. Washington is also trying to restrict the use of Asian technology in North America, according to William Jackson, an economist at Capital Economics. “The Trump administration needs to balance the demand for these technologies with the need to keep the country at the forefront of AI development,” Jackson told AFP. For him, “tariffs could harm this objective”. The challenge of reconciling the preservation of a rapidly expanding industry with protectionist discourse leaves the sector “very easily in the line of fire”, he added.