Mexican president addresses risk of US trade war amid Trump's tariff threats

Mexico City, Mexico - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday ruled out a trade war with the US after speaking with President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened stiff tariffs to halt undocumented immigration.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (r.) on Thursday ruled out a trade war with the US after speaking with President-elect Donald Trump.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (r.) on Thursday ruled out a trade war with the US after speaking with President-elect Donald Trump.  © Collage: JEFF KOWALSKY & Mexican Presidency / AFP

"There will not be a potential tariff war," Sheinbaum, who has been scrambling to head off threatened tariffs of 25% on Mexican goods, told a daily news conference.

She was speaking a day after a telephone call with Trump, who has threatened to slap tariffs on Canada and China in addition to Mexico over undocumented immigration and drug trafficking.

After their call, Sheinbaum and Trump offered differing accounts of what they had discussed regarding migration.

Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum hails "excellent" Trump talks after US tariff threat
Mexico Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum hails "excellent" Trump talks after US tariff threat

Trump claimed that Mexico's left-wing president had "agreed to stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."

Sheinbaum later said she had discussed a policy already in place and denied Trump's version again Thursday.

"I can assure you... that we would never – we would not be capable – of proposing that we were going to close the border," she said, adding: "Of course, we do not agree with that."

She said she had assured the Republican leader that a caravan of migrants assembled in southern Mexico, over which Trump had expressed concern, "will not reach the northern border," pointing to Mexico's "strategy" of preventing such convoys crossing its territory.

She said that after that, the talks had no longer revolved around the threat of tariff hikes.

Sheinbaum downplays threat of tariff war with US

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that further conversations were planned between her government and Trump's transition team before his January 20 inauguration.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that further conversations were planned between her government and Trump's transition team before his January 20 inauguration.  © MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP

Writing Wednesday on X, Sheinbaum said she and Trump had also discussed "strengthening collaboration on security issues" as well as "the campaign we are conducting in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl."

Trump caused panic among some of the biggest US trading partners on Monday when he said he would impose tariffs of 25% on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China.

He accused them of not doing enough to halt the "invasion" of the US by drugs "in particular fentanyl" and undocumented migrants.

Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum hits back at Trump tariffs and anti-migrant rhetoric in defiant letter
Mexico Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum hits back at Trump tariffs and anti-migrant rhetoric in defiant letter

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard warned Wednesday that some 400,000 jobs in the US could be lost if Trump followed through on his threat.

He cited a study based on figures from US carmakers that manufacture in Mexico.

Sheinbaum said Thursday that further conversations were planned between her government and Trump's transition team before his January 20 inauguration.

Cover photo: Collage: JEFF KOWALSKY & Mexican Presidency / AFP

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