Quick off the mark on U.S – Mexico trade spat

Reuters was hours ahead of the competition when Mexico announced on March 19 that it was slapping import tariffs on a range of US goods in retaliation for a US ban on Mexican trucks. Reuters sifted through the government’s official gazette around midnight Tuesday to find the tariff announcement, giving us a beat of over 6 hours against Dow Jones. Bloomberg was unseen. Reuters also won an exclusive when government sources revealed the tariffs would exclude major food staples including rice, corn, wheat and beans. Reuters was then alone again with news the tariffs would also exclude meat products. Traders cited the report and one economist at Cargill called to find out where we got the information. Later, Reuters interviewed a senior Mexican trade official who said the government wants to patch up the dispute with Washington.