Mexico may retaliate with its own costs after Trump’s threat, the new president said

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has slammed President-elect Trump for a proposed 25% tariff on goods from Mexico, saying he would impose his own tariffs on the US and suggesting it could lead to a trade war between the countries. and more inflation.

Trump on Monday said he would issue an executive order when he takes office to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on all products coming into the United States, as well as additional tariffs on China for the flow of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs.

In a Truth Social post, Trump, who takes office on January 20, 2025, said thousands of people are “pouring” into Mexico and Canada at “unprecedented rates.”

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But Sheinbaum, who has been in the post for about seven weeks, warned on Tuesday that the tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries, highlighting the number of US automakers based in Mexico.

“One tax will follow another and another, until we put our normal businesses at risk,” Sheinbaum said in a letter to Trump, which he read at a press conference and plans to send later today.

“What’s the point?” to the increase in cross-border tariffs, Sheinbaum added, stressing that they would hit American automakers with plants in Mexico, such as General Motors and Ford, hard.

Mexico’s automotive industry is the country’s most important manufacturing sector, accounting for more than 35% of manufactured goods exported by value. The United States is the leading destination for cars made in Mexico, with up to 79% of them going north across the border.

Mexico represents about 25% of all products produced in North America.

“It is unacceptable and would cause inflation and job losses in Mexico and the United States,” Sheinbaum said, according to the Associated Press. “If prices go up, who will it hurt? General Motors?”

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Migrants carrying food and supplies cross the banks of the Rio Grande to be processed by the Border Patrol in El Paso Sector, Texas, after crossing from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on May 8, 2023. (Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ / AFP) (Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

He promised to talk about the issues and said he hoped his administration and the incoming Trump administration could meet soon.

Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, added that she would also seek a phone call with Trump and send a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In the book Public Truth, Trump said that thousands of people are currently coming from Mexico by caravan and that it seems “unstoppable.”

“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as drugs, especially Fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he added. “Both Mexico and Canada have every right and power to easily resolve this long-simmering issue.”

Since his first administration, Trump has long pushed Mexico to participate in preventing the entry of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs into the United States.

“And until they do, it’s time for them to pay a huge price!” he wrote.

Sheinbaum said Mexico is helping to stem the flow of migrants traveling across the country before crossing into the US. Numbers have been dropping sharply at the border since June, when President Biden signed a presidential proclamation that dramatically reduced the number of immigrants who could enter the US.

President-elect Trump on Monday announced his intention to impose heavy tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico on their goods entering the United States for the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs across the border. (Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images/Getty)

In September, there were 101,790 border crossings, the lowest number since February 2021, and there have been no major signs of a significant increase in numbers since then.

Sheinbaum also noted that the criminal groups in Mexico were still getting guns from the US. He said that the shared challenges of the region require cooperation, dialogue and mutual understanding.

“We don’t produce weapons, we don’t consume synthetic drugs. Unfortunately, we have people who are killed by crimes that are related to the need in your country,” he said.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and can kill in small doses, has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and is the cause of many drug overdose deaths. Many illegal drugs are laced with fentanyl to make them cheaper and more potent. Some users don’t even know they are consuming the substance.

WATCH: Trump to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico

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US officials often say that illegal fentanyl is made in Mexico using Chinese precursors and smuggled across the border by drug cartels.

Trump said he would also impose an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods imported into the US on the “huge amount” of drugs, particularly fentanyl, being smuggled into the US.

Trump said he spoke with Chinese officials about fentanyl coming to the US, noting that the Communist nation previously promised to kill drug dealers involved in the illegal trade, but failed to follow through.

Fox Business’ Louis Cassano and Adam Shaw and Reuters contributed to this report.