Claudia Sheinbaum's administration is seeking, to the extent possible, to avoid taking this measure while continuing to negotiate with Donald Trump.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that, to the extent possible, her government wants to avoid imposing reciprocal tariffs on the United States and continues to negotiate with the Donald Trump administration, but clarified that she has not ruled out doing so either.

"To the extent possible, we want to avoid imposing reciprocal tariffs (...) We don't rule it out, but we prefer to continue the dialogue before taking any other measures," Sheinbaum said amid the global trade war unleashed by Trump last week and which is affecting global markets this Monday.

"We are seeking to avoid this and reach a prior agreement," Sheinbaum said at her regular "Mañanera del Pueblo" press conference, where she announced that Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will travel to Washington this week to continue trade negotiations.

The president added that it would be "very easy" for her to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum from the neighboring nation, for example, but that would mean higher prices for Mexican consumers of those products in a sector in which Mexico also has a trade deficit with the United States.

He explained that the reason for not responding to the US tariffs, which in Mexico's case affect steel and aluminum and partially the automotive industry, is that this would be reflected in "price increases" for these products in Mexico.

"Of course we want to protect Mexican industry, Mexican companies, but we're looking to reach a prior agreement" with the United States, Sheinbaum added.

The reciprocal tariffs, which Trump applied on April 2 to dozens of countries, exclude, in the case of Mexico and Canada, all goods exported under USMCA rules.

However, both the steel and automotive industries did suffer tariffs based on executive orders issued by the Trump administration before the reciprocal tariffs.