Mexican president hits back at Trump’s tariff threats

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump of dire economic consequences for both countries from tariffs and suggested possible retaliation following his threat of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

"One tariff will follow another in response and so on, until we put our common businesses at risk," Sheinbaum said in a letter to Trump, which she read aloud in a press conference, warning that tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries.

Trump justified the imposition of new tariffs as a way to make the southern neighbor pay for the entry of drugs and the “invasion” of migrants into the United States.

However, according to Sheinbaum, since December of last year, migration entering through the US border has been reduced by 75%, she recalled according to EL PAÍS.

Moreover, she said her administration had shown Mexico's willingness to help fight the fentanyl epidemic in the US and noted that criminal groups in Mexico were still receiving guns from their northern neighbor.

Hinting at the United State’s responsability in the fentanyl epidemic she wrote: "We do not produce weapons, we do not consume synthetic drugs. Unfortunately what we do have is the people who are being killed by the crime that is responding to the demand in your country."

In the letter she intends to send to Trump, she also wrote that “threats and tariffs are not the way to address the migration phenomenon or drug use in the United States,” saying that the “major challenges require cooperation and mutual understanding," CNN reported.

The president insisted that her policy would be to address the root causes of migration. In fact, at the last G20 meeting, which was held recently in Brazil, she asked that a percentage of what is spent on wars be devoted to addressing the needs of poor countries.

Sheinbaum also noted that binational companies exporting from Mexico to the United States, such as General Motors or Ford Motor Company, will be vulnerable to such taxes and pointed out that the main risk will be the loss of jobs.

The president also reported that Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, will participate in the country’s morning conference to explain the economic impacts on the United States if the taxes on Mexico are implemented.

According to the BBC, Sheinbaum also called for respect for what was established in the trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, signed in 2020, and that is set to be reviewed in 2026.

Canada, Mexico and China (all countries on which Trump has promised to raise tariffs) are, in that order, the main trading partners of the United States.

In 2023, US imports from these three countries amounted to almost 1.5 trillion dollars, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis in Washington.

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