Politics

Mexican President Threatens Next Move Over Trump Tariffs

TIT-FOR-TAT

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called the U.S. tariffs irrational and promised to announce retaliatory measures on Sunday.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 20: President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during the daily morning briefing at the National Palace on February 20, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Alessa Mejia/ObturadorMX/Getty Images

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariff on Mexico was unjustified and that her government will respond with its own punishment against the U.S.. “There is no reason, rationale or justification to support this decision that will affect our people and nations ... Nobody wins with this decision,” Sheinbaum said during her usual morning press conference, Reuters reported. Trump’s tariffs went live at 12:01 a.m. in Washington, marking the end of the 30-day deadline he had given U.S. neighbors, Mexico and Canada, to curb the flow of fentanyl across the respective borders. But on Monday, Trump declared that the countries had failed to sufficiently do so and that he would go ahead with the tariffs. Sheinbaum, however, argued Mexico had done enough, collaborating with the U.S. on migration, border security and anti-drug trafficking. “In these 30 days, decisive actions were taken against organized crime and fentanyl trafficking, as well as bilateral meetings on security and trade,” Sheinbaum said. She said that she will announce the country’s response, including retaliatory tariffs, at an event in Mexico City’s iconic Zocalo square on Sunday.

Read it at Reuters