Mexico City, Mexico - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday criticized a decision by the US to suspend livestock imports from her country because of a pest control row, calling it "unfair."

President Donald Trump's administration on Sunday announced a 15-day halt to imports of live cattle, horses, and bison over the southern US border because of a screwworm fly outbreak.

"There's no reason to close the border" to livestock trade, Sheinbaum said at her morning news conference.

"We hope that this measure, which we consider unfair, will be lifted very soon," she said, adding that her government had "been working in every way" to end the outbreak.

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The US warned in late April that it would introduce restrictions unless Mexico acted to help control the screwworm fly, whose flesh-eating larvae can kill cattle.

It complained that Mexico was restricting US-contracted planes that release sterile screwworm flies to operating six days a week instead of seven.

Washington also accused Mexican authorities of imposing "substantial import duties" on aviation parts, equipment, and sterile fly shipments needed for the operations.

Trump's Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Sunday called the outbreak a "national security issue of the utmost importance."

"Once we see increased surveillance and eradication efforts, and the positive results of those actions, we remain committed to opening the border for livestock trade," she said.

Mexico exported just over one million head of cattle to the US last year, according to official estimates.

The row comes against a backdrop of heightened trade tensions between the neighboring countries as a result of Trump's global trade war.