Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the tariffs announced by U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the country and anticipated counter-measures that will be announced at a massive public event at Ciudad de Mexico's iconic Zocalo plaza.
Speaking at her daily press conference, Sheinbaum said there is no "reason nor justification to sustain this decision, which will affect all of our people and nations."
"We have said it in different ways: cooperation and coordination, yes. Interventionism, no. Mexico is to be respected, we are equal nations," the president added.
She went on to highlight results achieved in the fight against drug-trafficking and organized crime, noting the seizing of large stashes of fentanyl, the destruction of clandestine labs and the detention of thousands of people for being allegedly connected with cartels.
Sheinbaum anticipated that the counter-measures to the Trump administration will be announced on Sunday at a public event. "We have decided to respond with tariff and non-tariff measures that I will announce at the public plaza on Sunday. It is in no way our purpose to begin an economic or commercial confrontation, which is regrettably the last thing we should be doing; that is, further integrating our economies to strengthen our region against the economic and commercial advancement of other regions," the president added.
Canada has also announced retaliatory measures, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying on Monday that the country "will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered." " Should American tariffs come into effect tonight, Canada will, effective 12:01 a.m. EST tomorrow, respond with 25% tariffs against $155 billion of American goods," he said before the measures actually went into effect.
China has also criticized the decision, which doubles the levies on its products from 10% to 20%. Lin Jian, a spokesman for the country's foreign ministry, hinted the country could reduce cooperation with the U.S. in fighting fentanyl. "This will deal a heavy blow to counternarcotics cooperation," he said. The country also announced broad tariffs on food imported from the U.S. and said it would essentially halt sales to 15 American companies.
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