Mexico and Canada Condemn Section 232 Tariff Increase, Sheinbaum Promises Retaliation Barring Deal
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised unspecified retaliatory measures against the U.S. for doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum, unless a deal is struck between the two countries before next week.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Sheinbaum said in a June 4 press conference that her economy secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, has a meeting with the U.S. secretary of commerce and U.S. trade representative scheduled and, unless that meeting results in an agreement, "next week we will also be announcing some measures that we would be taking," according to an unofficial translation. She denied that these measures would be retaliatory, saying, "It is not a matter of revenge ... no, it is a matter of protecting our jobs and our companies."
She said that President Donald Trump's decision to double Section 232 tariff rates on steel and aluminum is "unfair," because Mexico imports more of those products than it exports, and "has no legal basis" because of existing trade agreements. She said the tariffs were "unsustainable" because of the cross-border trade between the two countries, particularly for automobiles.
Mexico has "already made a lot of progress with the United States on a special agreement" between the two countries she said, and so "we hope to reach an agreement." However, she warned that if such an agreement "is not achieved, then we will also be announcing some measures that we must necessarily take to strengthen and protect jobs."
Sheinbaum later posted photos of a meeting with Mexican representatives from the steel and aluminum industry on social media, saying, "Our responsibility is to protect jobs."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed with Sheinbaum in a conversation with Canadian broadcaster CBC, saying that the measures were "unjustified." He said that Canada would take "some time -- not much ... before responding" to the tariff increases and noted progress in trade talks between the two countries: "Those discussions are progressing."