Mexico's president warns Trump's tariffs will worsen US inflation

US President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, and hike duties on Chinese goods, rattled global markets and sparked concern among the targeted countries. Mexico’s president wrote in a letter to Trump that “for every tariff, there will be a response in kind,” while Canada’s prime minister stressed the need for cooperation. “Among Mexico’s main exporters to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote. “Why impose a tariff that would jeopardize them? Such a measure would be unacceptable and would lead to inflation and job losses.”
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo opened her morning news conference by reading aloud a letter she plans to send to Trump, questioning his vow to slap a 25% tariff on goods produced in Mexico if her government doesn’t stop the flow of migrants or fentanyl to the U.S. border.She suggested Trump may not know that, over the past year, her country has taken “a holistic approach” to blocking the tens of thousands of people who cross Mexico to reach the U.S. southern border, or that U.S. Border Patrol migrant encounters have dropped more than 75% since last December as a result, she said.
Sheinbaum "is probably going to have to give a bit because tariffs would crater Mexico’s economy," said Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for the nonprofit Washington Office on Latin America.