Mexico City, February 2. US President Donald Trump’s order to impose tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China has sparked a trade war. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum talked on Saturday about imposing retaliatory tariffs on US imports.
According to media reports, in a long article written on X, Sheinbaum said that her government wanted dialogue rather than confrontation with its top trading partner, but Mexico has been forced to respond in the same way.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday (February 1), imposing a 25% tariff on goods coming from Mexico. A 25% tariff has also been imposed on goods coming from Canada, but only a 10% tariff will be imposed on Canadian energy resources. In this order, a 10% tariff has also been imposed on imports from China.
“I have instructed my economy minister to implement Plan B, which we are working on, which includes tariff and non-tariff measures to protect Mexico’s interests,” Sheinbaum posted. He did not specify which US goods his government would target.
Media reports cited sources as saying Mexico is preparing for possible retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the US, ranging from 5% to 20%, including pork, cheese, fresh produce, manufactured steel and aluminum. The auto industry may be exempted initially.
Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on X that Trump’s tariff order is a “blatant violation” of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. He added, “Plan B is underway. We will win!”
In his post, Sheinbaum also dismissed as “outrageous” the White House’s allegation that drug cartels are in collusion with the Mexican government, a point used by the Trump administration to justify the tariffs.
Trump said the tariffs against Mexico were imposed because of its failure to stop the deadly fentanyl drug from entering the US as well as uncontrolled migration.
Sheinbaum touted his administration’s record since taking office in October, including seizing 20 million doses of fentanyl and detaining more than 10,000 people linked to drug trafficking.
