Mexico’s Sheinbaum vows resilience as US tariffs trigger trade war

MEXICO CITY - Mexico’s

President Claudia Sheinbaum

said on Feb 2 that reason should prevail a day after her government and the US announced tariffs against one another, raising her fist in the air as she said she does not lack courage to respond.

Ms Sheinbaum

ordered retaliatory tariffs

on Feb 1 in response to the US decision to slap 25 per cent tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico, as a trade war broke out between the two neighbours.

In a speech outside the Mexican capital on Feb 2, she raised her fist in the air and said that the trade penalties first ordered by US President Donald Trump will hit his own people with higher prices.

She said her government preferred dialogue rather than confrontation with its top trade partner to the north, but warned that the tariffs will hit the United States with higher prices.

Mr Trump also said on Feb 2 that the sweeping tariffs he has imposed on Mexico, Canada and China may cause “some pain” for Americans, as Wall Street and the largest US trading partners signaled hope that the trade war would not last long.

In a separate video posted on X, she said she will provide more details on the retaliatory tariffs she ordered against the United States on Feb 3, part of what her government has called “Plan B”. REUTERS