Mexico has announced plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods after President Donald Trump enacted a 25 percent levy on imports from the country.
President Claudia Sheinbaum is pushing back against Trump’s aggressive trade policies as tensions between the US and Mexico escalate. The latest trade dispute follows Trump’s executive order imposing 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10 percent on Chinese imports. China, in response, doubled its own tariffs to 20 percent, further inflaming the situation.
On Tuesday, March 4, Sheinbaum declared that Mexico would respond in kind, though she did not specify which US goods would be targeted. She stated that full details would be revealed on Sunday, March 9, at a public event in Mexico City’s central plaza.
Addressing the trade war, Sheinbaum criticized Trump’s decision, saying: “There is no motive, reason, or justification that supports this decision, which will negatively impact both our people and our nations.”
She continued: “It’s inconceivable that they fail to consider the damage this will cause to US citizens and businesses, as prices for goods produced in Mexico will rise. This decision will also stifle job creation in both countries. No one wins with this.”
Sheinbaum also pushed back against claims made in a White House fact sheet published on March 3, which alleged that Mexican drug cartels continue to operate due to an “intolerable relationship with the government of Mexico.” She dismissed the accusations as “offensive, defamatory, and baseless.”
The Mexican president highlighted her administration’s efforts in combating drug trafficking, citing the seizure of over a ton of fentanyl and the dismantling of 329 methamphetamine labs. She also emphasized that Mexico has cooperated with the US in extraditing cartel criminals, noting that as recently as last week, her government sent 29 alleged drug cartel members to face charges in the United States.
“We collaborate to prevent illegal drug trafficking into the United States,” Sheinbaum added. “But as we have said many times, the US government must also take responsibility for the opioid crisis that has caused so many deaths in their own country.”
With tensions rising, all eyes will be on Sheinbaum’s upcoming announcement, as Mexico prepares to unveil its countermeasures in this intensifying trade war.
