Mexican president warns Trump tariffs will kill jobs, hints at retaliation By Reuters


By Sarah Morland and Brendan O’Boyle

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump of dire financial penalties for each nations from tariffs and instructed potential retaliation following his menace of across-the-board tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada.

“One tariff will comply with one other in response and so forth, till we put our frequent companies in danger,” Sheinbaum stated in a letter to Trump, which she learn aloud in a press convention, warning that tariffs would trigger inflation and job losses in each nations.

Sheinbaum added she would additionally search a name with Trump and ship a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trump, who takes workplace on Jan. 20, stated late on Monday he would impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico till they clamped down on medicine, significantly fentanyl, and migrants crossing the border.

Mexico is america’ prime commerce accomplice as of September, representing 15.8% of complete commerce, adopted by Canada at 13.9%. The U.S. can also be Mexico’s prime commerce accomplice.

“What sense is there?” in escalating cross-border tariffs, Sheinbaum added, underscoring that they’d hit significantly onerous U.S. carmakers with crops in Mexico, corresponding to Basic Motors (NYSE:) and Ford (NYSE:).

Mexico’s automotive business is the nation’s most vital manufacturing sector, accounting for over 35% of manufactured exports by worth. America is by far the dominant vacation spot for autos made in Mexico, with as much as 79% of them heading north throughout the border.

Mexico represents practically 25% of all North American automobile manufacturing.

Tariffs may violate the United States-Mexico-Canada Settlement, a commerce deal the nations signed in 2020 throughout Trump’s first administration.

Sheinbaum stated her administration had proven Mexico’s willingness to assist struggle the fentanyl epidemic within the U.S., that apprehensions of migrants on the border have been down, and that migrant caravans have been not arriving on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nonetheless, Sheinbaum famous that legal teams in Mexico have been nonetheless receiving weapons from the U.S.

“We don’t produce weapons, we don’t eat artificial medicine. Sadly what we do have is the people who find themselves being killed by the crime that’s responding to the demand in your nation,” she stated.

“Tariffs are a tax and would harm each nations. We are going to discover a answer,” stated Mexican Financial system Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who earlier this month warned Mexico may retaliate with its personal tariffs on U.S. imports if the incoming Trump administration imposes tariffs on Mexican exports.

His deputy, Luis Rosendo Gutierrez, stated that the tariff threats from Trump have been in keeping with the president-elect’s habits in his first time period.

“It is his means of doing issues,” Gutierrez stated in an interview with Radio Method station. “First, he takes a extremely robust place, however then he sits down to barter. If he had simply wished to hike (tariffs), he would have performed it on (Jan.) 20, he would not have tell us prematurely.”

Monetary analysts, in the meantime, reacted to Trump’s announcement with commentaries starting from pessimism to cynicism.

At CIBanco, analysts stated they believed the menace was a tactic to drive Mexico, Canada and China into talks, and as these measures would additionally injury the U.S. financial system, the ultimate outcome was more likely to be much less extreme.

The Mexican peso weakened some 2% on Tuesday, aggravating a steep six-month decline.

Capital Economics economist Giulia Bellicoso stated tariffs would probably hit Mexican equities by denting optimism about nearshoring – a development of multinational corporations organising manufacturing services in Mexico – and curbing funding.

“We count on Trump to begin one other commerce battle,” she stated.

© Reuters. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks after reading a letter to be sent to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, warning that tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries, at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, November 26, 2024. Carlos Ramos Mamahua/Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via REUTERS

Sheinbaum stated she was assured Mexico would attain an settlement with Trump however that ought to the U.S. impose tariffs, Mexico had a plan to bolster its different commerce relationships.

“We’re not solely trying to the north, but additionally to the south and to the European continent,” she stated. “Mexico is powerful and we are going to all the time come out on prime.”



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