Mexico President hails ‘excellent’ Trump talks after US tariff threat

President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had "an excellent conversation" with Donald Trump after recent tensions over drug trafficking, illegal migration and tariff threats. Photo / Meghan Dhaliwal, The New York Times

Mexico’s president discussed migration and drug trafficking with US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, two issues Trump raised as justification for raising import tariffs on America’s southern neighbour.

Claudia Sheinbaum said she had “an excellent conversation” with Trump, just hours after her Economy Minister warned the cost to US companies of Trump’s tariffs would be huge.

“We discussed Mexico’s strategy regarding the phenomenon of migration,” Sheinbaum said on X, adding she had told Trump caravans of migrants “are not arriving at the northern border because they are being attended to in Mexico”.

They also discussed “strengthening collaboration on security issues” as well as “the campaign we are conducting in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl”, the President said.

Trump on Monday said he would impose tariffs of 25% on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China.

“This tariff will remain in effect until such time as drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social page.

The Republican, who won an election in which illegal migration was a top issue, has vowed to declare a national emergency on border security and use the US military to carry out a mass deportation of undocumented migrants.

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday some “400,000 jobs will be lost” in the United States if Trump followed through on his threat.

He cited a study based on figures from US carmakers that manufacture in Mexico.

‘A shot in the foot’

Ebrard said the tariffs would also hit US consumers hard, citing the US market for pickup trucks - most of which are manufactured in Mexico. The tariffs, the minister said, would add US$3000 ($5087) to the cost of a new vehicle.

“The impact of this measure will chiefly be felt by consumers in the United States ... That is why we say it would be a shot in the foot,” Ebrard told reporters, speaking alongside Sheinbaum at her regular morning conference.

Mexico and China have been particularly vociferous in opposition to Trump’s threats of a trade war from day one of his second presidential term, which begins on January 20.

Sheinbaum has declared the threats “unacceptable” and pointed out that Mexico’s drug cartels exist mainly to serve drug use in the United States.

China has warned that “no one will win a trade war”.

During his first term as President, Trump launched full-blown trade hostilities with Beijing, imposing significant tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.

China responded with retaliatory tariffs on American products, especially affecting US farmers.

The United States, Mexico and Canada are tied to a three-decade-old, largely duty-free trade agreement.

Called the USMCA, it was renegotiated under Trump after he complained that US businesses, especially automakers, were losing out.

© Agence France-Presse