President Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman to hold the office of President in Mexico, said on Tuesday that Mexico could retaliate against Trump tariffs with their own, which would ratchet up a tariff war between two countries with common interest.
“One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses,” Sheinbaum said, referring to U.S. automakers that have plants on both sides of the border.
Responding to Trump’s threats to impose tariffs if Mexico didn’t stop the flow of migrants and drugs across the border, Sheinbaum said that drugs were a U.S. problem, and noted that “caravans of migrants no longer reach the border.”
Sheinbaum bristled at Trump’s threats, explaining that Mexico suffered from an influx of weapons smuggled in from the United States, and said the flow of drugs “is a problem of public health and consumption in your country’s society.”
“We negotiate as equals, there is no subordination here, because we are a great nation,” Sheinbaum said, while adding, “I think we are going to reach an agreement.”
Taking office on October 1, 2024, in a landslide electory win, Sheinbaum is a staunch leftist.
