Mexico City, Mexico - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her government plans to purchase more goods from the US amid ongoing trade negotiations between the two nations.
As part of the US and Mexico's bid to renegotiate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Sheinbaum confirmed on Monday that her government will buy more products from the US and reduce her country's imports from nations outside of North America.
"What is the United States interested in?" Sheinbaum asked, in comments translated from Spanish, during her morning press conference on Monday. "We have said it many times, and President Trump also says it many times – that they want to reduce the trade balance."
"What does that mean? What he calls the 'deficit' – Mexico exports more than the United States imports," she explained. "So we are the main exporter to the United States, and what Trump wants is for us to import the same amount that the United States exports."
"Within this framework, we are looking at what can be done so that instead of buying from other countries in the world, we buy from the United States and reduce what the United States is asking to be reduced."
Sheinbaum's comments come as a potential step towards a lasting trade deal with the Trump administration, the Mexican leader indicating that her government is willing to compromise on its trade policy to stay in Washington's good graces.
USMCA negotiations – which failed to meet a July 1 deadline – have been fraught, especially due to President Donald Trump's feud with Canada. Trump has demanded a massive overhaul of the trade agreement, and even suggested ditching it altogether.
Sheinbaum expressed optimism in August, however, telling the AFP: "We have been working for more than a year now to see how these tariffs can be reduced… I'm optimistic."