“Let them know that we are prepared. We meet two or three times a week with the team to strengthen various measures. What we want is to protect the people of Mexico and jobs, essentially,” President Claudia Sheinbaum asserted yesterday during a press conference. She reaffirmed the existence of a plan and urged people to wait for the proposal from the Donald Trump administration, which has twice postponed the implementation of general tariffs since taking office last January.

“The United States government’s decision to impose tariffs on one or other countries obviously calls into question the USMCA itself,” because if the agreement states “zero tariffs” and they are imposed, it is not being complied with, the dignitary explained, referring to Washington’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

On March 12th, the United States established tariffs of 25 percent on all steel and aluminum imports, and last week announced tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, although in the latter case there are specific provisions for Mexico. According to information released by US authorities, importers under the USMCA will only pay the tariff on non-US content, and parts that comply with the agreement will remain tariff-free for the time being.

“We don’t believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, because that always leads to a bad situation. Of course, measures are taken, because measures are taken by the other side, but dialogue must continue,” Sheinbaum emphasized. “It’s not a matter of ‘you hit me, I hit you back,’ but rather what’s best for Mexico and how to address this situation.”

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