The leaders of Mexico and Canada said they would advise President-elect Donald Trump to engage in dialogue in the wake of his pledge to slap tariffs on their countries that they say will result in killing jobs and inflation, according to reports.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would counsel Trump to participate in cooperation and negotiation instead of sparking a mutually adverse trade war.
"One tariff will follow another and so on, until we put our common businesses at risk," Sheinbaum told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
On Monday, Trump pledged to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada to stem the flow of illegal immigration and drugs, especially highly lethal Fentanyl, into the United States when he takes office in January.
"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 percent tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also said he plans to add an additional 10% duty on Chinese goods "above any additional Tariffs."
Sheinbaum also noted that she would send the letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Mexico, Canada and China are the top trading partners to the United States, with about $798 billion in goods and services exchanged between them in 2023, according to USA Facts.
The three countries made up 42% of all U.S. trade in 2023.
"What sense is there?" Sheinbaum asked, noting that U.S. carmakers like General Motors and Ford have plants in Mexico.
She warned that tit-for-tat tariffs would harm the automakers, as well as Mexico and the U.S.
"Why endanger them with tariffs that would harm both nations?" Sheinbaum wrote in the letter, the New York Times reported. "Any tariffs imposed by one side would likely prompt retaliatory tariffs, leading to risks for joint enterprises."
Trudeau told reporters Tuesday that he spoke with Trump after the postings on Monday evening.
"We talked about some of the challenges that we can work on together. It was a good call," he said "This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that's what we'll do."
At her press conference, Sheinbaum noted that illegal crossings from Mexico into the United States have fallen between December 2023 and November 2024, adding "migrant caravans no longer reach the border," the New York Times reported.
She also suggested that the U.S. could do more to solve the root causes of immigration.
"Allocating even a fraction of what the United States spends on warfare toward peace building and development would address the deeper drivers of migration," Sheinbaum said.
