MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday she would send a letter to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urging dialogue and cooperation following his promise of 25% across-the-board tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
“One tariff will lead to another and so on until we threaten our joint business,” Sheinbaum said during a regular press conference, warning that the tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries.
Sheinbaum added that she would send the letter later that day.
Trump made the pledge Monday night, accusing Mexico of not doing more to stop illegal drugs and illegal migrants from coming across the countries’ shared border.
The tariffs could violate the United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA), which the countries signed in 2020 when Trump was president.
The Mexican peso weakened by about 1.3% in early trading on Tuesday.
Sheinbaum said her administration has always shown Mexico’s willingness to help fight the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S., and that detentions of migrants at the border have decreased and caravans of migrants no longer come to the shared border.
However, Sheinbaum noted that criminal groups in Mexico still receive weapons from the US. She said that the common challenges of the region require cooperation, dialogue and mutual understanding.
“We don’t make weapons, we don’t consume synthetic drugs. Unfortunately, we have people killed by crime that responds to the demand in your country,” she said.
(Reporting by the Mexico City bureau; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle)