Mexico warns US it is ready to seek other trade partners

Mexico will look for other trading partners if needed in the face of US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, his Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum warned Wednesday.

Mexico has to take "important decisions for the future of the country" and "if necessary, other trading partners will be sought," she said at her morning news conference.

Sheinbaum said Tuesday her government would respond to Trump's 25-percent tariffs with retaliatory duties, calling on supporters to mass in Mexico City's main square on Sunday to hear details.


At the same time, she has said her government would prefer a negotiated solution and that she expects to speak to Trump by phone on Thursday about the tariffs, which he has linked to fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration.

The doors to dialogue "must always be open," Sheinbaum said.

Last week, her left-wing government pledged to take coordinated actions with Washington to tackle drug flows.

It also extradited some of its most notorious imprisoned drug lords to the United States, including a cartel kingpin wanted for decades over the murder of a US undercover agent.

The United States is Mexico's top trading partner, buying more than 80 percent of its exports.

Sheinbaum has accused Washington of violating a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada that was renegotiated during Trump's 2017-2021 presidency.

"Are we to blame for companies deciding to come to Mexico to export to the United States? No, it's the result of a good relationship since President Trump's first term and the trade agreement that came before," she said.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the previous NAFTA accord on July 1, 2020, is due to be reviewed by July next year.