Mexico's Sheinbaum 'Confident' About Trade Deal With Trump

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said a new trade proposal from her country to the Trump administration is being reviewed at the White House, and she is confident of a positive outcome.

During a media briefing posted by 24Horas, Sheinbaum said it was clear that a previous trade strategy that had the approval of the Biden administration, involving Asian companies moving production to Mexico, was not acceptable to President Donald Trump.

"So that led to an increase in Mexican exports to the United States as part of the trade agreement," Sheinbaum told reporters. "President Trump and his administration don't want this gap between what the United States exports to Mexico and what Mexico exports to the United States to continue to widen."

Sheinbaum said there are always ways to balance trade, and her government has sent a proposal to the White House, which is now being reviewed. "And we hope this will help us resolve it moving forward."

Trump increased his tariff threat against Mexico in a mid-July letter to Sheinbaum while acknowledging Mexico has been helping to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the U.S. But he still warned of a 30% tariff without a new trade agreement. Trump told Sheinbaum that Mexico needed to work harder to prevent North America from turning into a "narco-trafficking playground."

Sheinbaum carried a level of optimism during her media briefing about the negotiations, telling reporters she would have no problem initiating a call to Trump if told that would be helpful, "but we're confident we can reach a good agreement."

She did not mention Saturday's move by the White House to impose new restrictions on commercial airline flights from Mexico its threat to block a partnership involving Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico in response to limits Mexico imposed on U.S. flights into Mexico City.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, "[Former President] Joe Biden and [former Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg deliberately allowed Mexico to break our bilateral aviation agreement. That ends today." Duffy added, "Let these actions serve as a warning to any country who thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. 'America First' means fighting for the fundamental principle of fairness."

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