He said import tariffs on Mexico and Canada would be eliminated only after illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States stopped.
He said tariffs would be imposed until China cracks down on smuggling of the drug fentanyl.
Earlier Wednesday, Sheinbaum pledged to retaliate if the United States triggers a trade war.
“If the United States imposes tariffs, Mexico will also increase tariffs,” she said at a press conference.
She joined Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard in calling for more regional cooperation.
“I shot myself in the foot,” Ebrard said of President Trump’s proposed tariffs. This appears to be a violation of the USMCA trade agreement signed between the United States, Mexico, and Canada during President Trump’s first term as president in 2018.
But after her call with President Trump, Sheinbaum initially posted on X that the two “had a great conversation.”
“We discussed Mexico’s strategy regarding the migration phenomenon and shared that (migrant) caravans do not arrive at the northern border because they are protected in Mexico.”
Trump later took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to offer a slightly different interpretation of what was agreed upon during the conversation.
“Mexico will immediately stop allowing people to travel to its southern border,” he wrote.
Sheinbaum later said of
“We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close the border, but to build bridges between the government and its people,” she added.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held an emergency meeting with the premiers of 10 provinces on Wednesday to discuss how to respond to President Trump’s tariff threats.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland later said the federal government and premiers had agreed to present a united front on the issue.
But signs of division emerged as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressed concerns about whether Trudeau is the best person to negotiate with the next U.S. president.
“I don’t think we should underestimate the personal animosity between these two leaders,” she told CBC.
“And if he (Trudeau) is not the right person to be at the negotiating table, we need to make sure we have the right person.”
Mainland Chinese authorities have yet to directly comment on the 10% tariff promised by President Trump.
But an official at the Chinese embassy in Washington said no one can win a trade war.
Illegal immigration has become a defining issue in the 2024 race for the White House, culminating in Trump’s landslide victory this month. He campaigned on a promise to close the U.S.-Mexico border.
After an unprecedented influx of millions of undocumented immigrants harmed Democrats politically, outgoing President Joe Biden introduced restrictions during this election cycle that would drastically reduce illegal crossings.
Under diplomatic pressure from the United States, Mexico has carried out its largest immigration crackdown ever, bussing and flying non-Mexican migrants south, far from the U.S. border.
This practice leaves exhausted migrants exhausted and without funds to continue their journey.
Thousands of people have become so frustrated with repeated experiences of this so-called internal deportation that they have voluntarily sought deportation to their home countries.
When Trump takes office, he will inherit a situation where fewer undocumented immigrants have been apprehended at the U.S. southern border than at any time in four years.
