The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, assured this Tuesday that she will negotiate as “equals” with the United States and there will be no “subordination” in the face of threats of tariffs and exclusion from the trade agreement made by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump.
“We negotiate as equals, there is no subordination here because we are a great country and we are hardworking Mexican men and women,” said the president during her morning press conference.
The president of Mexico, who moments before showed the content of a letter she will send to Trump on the matter, pointed out that the economies of both countries complement each other and that is why there is a relationship of “equals.”
“Because even though the GDP (gross domestic product) of the United States is large, we are a cultural power and here Mexican families get together, we love each other, that is why we do not have the fentanyl crisis that the United States has and that is a pride of Mexican men and women,” he emphasized.
Sheinbaum has defended the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), in force since July 2020 and signed during Trump’s first presidency (2017-2021).
In that sense, he recalled that the T-MEC has been “beneficial” to strengthen the North American economy.
“So, what we are saying there (in the letter) is to say: what is the point of tariff with tariff with tariff? When in the end that is going to lead us to a loss of competitiveness in North America and what we want to complement each other,” he stated.
Despite the tension generated by Trump’s statements, the Mexican leader was confident that there would be an agreement, as she assured that the imposition of tariffs would mainly affect consumers.
“What it would also mean on this side to be able to raise tariffs, what it will ultimately lead to is harming companies that work in Mexico and the United States and that are American companies that have been in Mexico for decades, not even because of the treaty of free trade,” he assured.
He explained that companies like General Motors have been in Mexico for 80 years and if Trump’s threats are carried out, “the ones they are going to harm (…) will be the United States consumers who buy General Motors vehicles. Why? Because by raising tariffs, the price is going to rise,” he noted.
He insisted that if the problem is migration, the strategy must be to address the causes that lead people to leave their homes and specified that in the case of fentanyl there must be comprehensive collaboration to fundamentally address this issue.
“Then it will be attended to in a comprehensive manner, that is why I say, in addition to the letter, we are going to seek a call so that we can sit down as soon as possible (to talk),” he expressed.
She reiterated that she is convinced that the solution is dialogue and reaching an agreement.
“I am convinced, and this must be our attitude, that we are going to agree with President Trump,” she said.
Finally, he expressed his respect for the future American president because he is the person who was elected by the people of the United States.
“So we respect it and we also ask for respect for ourselves and in that relationship of respect, always find common causes,” he concluded.
#Sheinbaum #warns #Trump #announcement #raise #tariffs #negotiate #equals #subordination
