Trump announced a week ago that one of his first orders would be to impose 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada.
Following the call between Presidents Donald Trump and Claudia Sheinbaum after the announcement of the increase in tariffs, various versions of the issues that were discussed have emerged.
President-elect Donald Trump said on his social media page Truth that Wednesday's conversation was productive, assuring that Sheinbaum agreed to stop migration through Mexico and close the border with the United States. In addition, that said agreement would be effective immediately, he added that they talked about stopping drug trafficking to the United States.
"I spoke to the new president of Mexico the other day, a very nice woman (...) but she said to me: why are you doing this to me?, and I said, no, I'm just putting up a lot of tariffs because they're allowing criminals to come into our country," the Republican declared at an event.
However, the president was quick to deny Trump's version of events on social media, where she made it clear that she would not accept closing the border with the United States.
“President Trump has a way of communicating; it was like when we had the call and he made a post where he said that we were going to close the border and that was never discussed in the call,” said the Mexican president.
"In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, while respecting human rights. We reiterated that Mexico's position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples," he added.
It is worth noting that the president reiterated this version during her morning press conference, assuring that both situations must be addressed with respect for human rights.
"Mexico has a strategy to address migration, which prevents caravans from reaching the northern border, with a humanitarian vision and attention to migrants. We talked about the issue of fentanyl and how we can collaborate with respect to our sovereignty, in matters of investigation and intelligence," he said.
Letter from Sheinbaum to Trump
Following the announcement of the tariffs, the head of the Mexican Federal Executive sent a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, in which she rejected Trump's threats to impose tariffs as a pressure measure to stop fentanyl trafficking and migration.
He explained that such a measure would only cause job losses and increased inflation for both countries, and asserted that imposing a tariff would provoke a similar response, which would put ordinary businesses at risk.
“It is not with threats or tariffs that we will address the migration phenomenon, nor drug consumption in the United States. Cooperation and mutual understanding are required in the face of these great challenges.”
The president assured that she will not fall for provocations. Trump announced a week ago that one of his first orders will be to impose 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada, until the problems of migration and drug trafficking come to an end.
