Keeping cool: Sheinbaum's much-talked-about response to Trump after new tariffs on Mexico

US President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs, this time on steel and aluminum. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said, according to El Universal, that she will wait for more details on this decision. "Keep a cool head," she said.

“Any steel that enters the United States will have a 25% tariff,” the president said aboard Air Force One while flying to New Orleans to attend Super Bowl LIX. He also confirmed that there will be tariffs applied to aluminum, Infobae explains.

The announcement comes just a few days after Trump agreed to a one month suspension on the tariffs that he had threatened Mexico and Canada with. According to CNN, the immediate measures of these countries regarding border security have not convinced Trump, who believes that “more must be done.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum intends to use this time to show Trump that the country is willing to cooperate on migration and security issues: “I am sure that this month we will be able to deliver results, good results for his people,” said the president.

However, the new tariffs may also affect Mexico, since, according to Infobae, the United States imported 3.8 million tons of steel from the country in 2023, according to figures from the Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Mexico.

In his first term, Trump also imposed tariffs of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum, but later created duty-free quotas for some of his trading partners such as Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

According to various media outlets, Trump also said that in the coming days he will announce reciprocal tariffs with other partners that apply taxes to US exports.

President Trump announced plans for a forthcoming statement later this week concerning reciprocal tariffs on all nations that impose taxes on imports from the U.S. He did not detail which countries would be affected or whether any would be exempted. "If they charge us, we charge them," stated Trump.

According to Fortune, Trump also made comments on reciprocal tariffs during his trip on Air Force One: "If they are charging us 130% and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way."

As CNN points out, Mexico is the United States' largest trading partner. Together with Canada, the three countries are part of the USMCA, a free trade agreement between North American nations. Therefore, these tariffs can have a major impact on the Mexican economy, even interfering with job creation in the country.

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