The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, assured Tuesday that she would negotiate on an equal footing with the United States and that there would be no “subordination” in the face of threats of customs duties and exclusion of the trade agreement formulated by the president-elect. of the United States, Donald Trump.
“We are negotiating on an equal footing, there is no subordination here because we are a great country and we are hard-working Mexicans,” the president said during her morning press conference. .
The President of Mexico, who moments before showed the content of a letter she will send to Trump on this subject, stressed that the economies of the two countries complement each other and that is why there is a relationship “equal to equal”.
“Because even though the GDP (gross domestic product) of the United States is large, we are a cultural power and here Mexican families come together, we love each other, that’s why we don’t have the fentanyl crisis that experienced the United States. and it is a pride of Mexican men and women,” he emphasized.
Sheinbaum defended the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), in force since July 2020 and signed during the first Trump presidency (2017-2021).
In this sense, he recalled that the T-MEC was “beneficial” in strengthening the North American economy.
“So what we are saying here (in the letter) is to say: what is the point of tariff with tariff with tariff? So that ultimately it’s going to lead us to a loss of competitiveness in North America and in what we want to complete,” he said.
Despite the tension generated by Trump’s statements, the Mexican leader was confident in reaching an agreement, assuring that the imposition of customs duties would mainly affect consumers.
“What that would also mean on this side, if we could increase tariffs, it would end up hurting companies that work in Mexico and the United States and that are American companies that have been in Mexico for decades, even not because of the free trade treaty,” he assured.
He explained that companies like General Motors have been present in Mexico for 80 years and that if Trump’s threats come true, “those who will be harmed (…) will be American consumers who buy vehicles from General Motors.” For what ? Because by increasing tariffs, prices will increase,” he noted.
He insisted that if the problem is migration, the strategy must be to address the causes that push people to leave their homes and clarified that in the case of fentanyl, there must be global collaboration to fundamentally solve this problem.
“Then it will be dealt with comprehensively, that is why I say that in addition to the letter, we will request a call so that we can sit down as soon as possible (to talk),” he said .
She reiterated her belief that the solution lies in 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 was the one who was elected by the people of the United States.
“So we respect him and we also ask for respect for ourselves and in this relationship of respect, let us always find common causes,” he concluded.
