We will respond to one tariff with another: Sheinbaum to Trump

Alonso Urrutia and Néstor Jiménez

La Jornada Newspaper
Wednesday, November 27, 2024, p. 8

In response to the threats of the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada, through a letter he addressed to the magnate, President Claudia Sheinbaum said that It is not with threats or tariffs that the immigration phenomenon or drug consumption in the United States will be addressed. Cooperation and mutual understanding are required.

At a conference, he hoped to reach an agreement that would prevent an escalation of tariff impositions, to a tariff, another will come in response and so on until we put common businesses at riskbut North America’s economic strength lies in our commercial society. He warned that Mexico negotiates as equals, there is no subordination here. We respect President Trump, because he was the person the people of the United States elected. And we ask for respect for ourselves.

He announced that he will seek a telephone conversation with Trump to direct an agreement in North America, because the imposition of tariffs will weaken the region compared to other economic blocks in the world. Imposing 25 percent tariffs would not only affect Mexican companies, but also many US companies based in Mexico such as General Motors or Ford Motor Company.

Sheinbaum asked for calm in the face of the circumstances that generate exchange volatility – which, in his case, corresponds to the Bank of Mexico to adopt measures – trusting in leading a dialogue so that his government exposes the actions taken to address migration and combat drug trafficking. Yes, it is important that also (in) Mexico, we are united, and we show this unity and this strength that our country has, that is fundamental to face a negotiation.

The figures from Mexico

In his letter, Sheinbaum explains the results of the actions that Mexico has applied in migration and drug trafficking, which are characterized by a comprehensive policy. From December 2023 to November 2024, migratory flows to the northern border were reduced by 75 percent, and half of them do so through the US mechanism CBP One, with which the United States seeks to regulate income.

For these reasons, caravans of migrants no longer arrive at the border. Even so, it is clear that we must jointly arrive at another model of labor mobility that is necessary for your country and attention to the causes that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity.he pointed out to Trump.

Regarding synthetic drug trafficking, it is largely due to the humanitarian fentanyl crisis in the United States, It is a consumer and public health problem in your country.that is why Mexico is willing to collaborate in combating trafficking for humanitarian reasons. 10,340 weapons have been seized, 15,640 arrested for violence associated with drug trafficking.

He commented that in Mexico the penalties will be toughened against those who trade fentanyl. However, he highlighted that 70 percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from their country. We do not produce weapons, we do not consume synthetic drugs. Those killed by crime to respond to the demand for drugs in their country, unfortunately, are provided by us.

Sheinbaum warned: it is known that chemical precursors for the manufacture of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs enter Canada, the United States and Mexico illegally from Asian countries, which is why international collaboration is urgent. Resulting in these social problems into trade sanctions will only affect the economies of the three North American countries.

The main exporters from Mexico to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Company, which arrived in Mexico 80 years ago. Why impose a tax on them that puts them at risk? It is not acceptable and would cause inflation and job losses in the United States and Mexico, he noted.

Furthermore, Sheinbaum stressed at the conference, if it were decided to return automotive plants to the United States, the impact on the consumer would be greater than the imposition of 25 percent tariffs, because it would raise production costs.

“What’s the point of ‘tariff with tariff’? –he asked himself–, when in the end is this going to lead us to a loss of competitiveness in North America, and what we want is to complement each other? If the issue is migration, fentanyl trafficking, we give you information. “Mexico has made a very important effort, especially this year, of a comprehensive policy to care for migrants and prevent them from reaching the border with the United States.”

He reported that Mexico has a plan with Mexican companies that the Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, is working on, so the business council headed by Altagracia Gómez will soon be presented. Although the country maintains trade relations with China, it also aims to substitute imports from Asia to encourage national production chains.

He expressed that he will send another letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, to explain the presence of Chinese companies and the disinformation. The import of Chinese vehicles to Canada already reaches 1.6 billion dollars; In Mexico, foreign direct investment, from 2006 to 2024, from the United States and Canada has been 33,357 million dollars in the automotive sector, that from China is only 590 million.

The President concluded: “there is a government, there is a people, we Mexicans are united in the face of this… There will be other things in which we have differences, and that is good, because we are a democracy, but there are issues where there is unity.”