Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that during her conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, they agreed to pause the imposition of 25 percent tariffs for one month and to establish a working group on trade and security.
This was announced during his morning press conference on Monday, February 3, where he specified that it was also agreed to reinforce the northern border with 10 thousand elements of the National Guard (GN) to prevent drug trafficking, in particular, fentanyl, and, for the first time, the United States will work together to prevent arms trafficking into Mexican territory.
“I told him: 'Well, we're going to put it on hold for a month. And I'm sure that, in this month, we're going to be able to deliver results, good results for your people, good results for the people of Mexico.' And this was the result of the agreement. So, it was a good conversation within the framework of respect,” she detailed at the press conference.
The head of the Federal Executive specified that the call between the two leaders took place this Monday, at 8:00 a.m., lasting about three quarters of an hour, and in which she explained the seriousness of the quantity of high-powered weapons entering Mexico from the United States.
“And these high-powered weapons that arrive illegally, arm criminal groups and give them firepower. And we asked him to also help the United States to prevent arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico. He agreed,” he added.
He said that after the call, he spoke with the Secretary of National Defense, General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, to work based on the agreement that was reached with the American president.
"It also helps us to strengthen security on the northern border. I think it was a good agreement and we will be reporting on this month of work by the security teams and the trade teams," he said.
"It is about collaborating as we have always said, coordinating, without losing sovereignty, with respect for our territories and our sphere of action. And he agreed that we should set up this working group to make an action plan, within the framework of our sovereignties, that would yield results," he stressed.
Sheinbaum stressed that during the call she explained that there is no trade deficit between Mexico and the United States, but rather that both nations are trading partners, which is the best way to face the competitiveness of other regions of the world.
Regarding migration, he stressed that there is already a High Level working group in which the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, participates and in which work is being done especially on defending the human rights of Mexicans on the other side of the border.
She shared that she will send President Donald Trump the campaign Stay away from drugs. Fentanyl kills you, which aims to prevent young people in our country from consuming this drug.
“For humanitarian reasons, we have to help the United States avoid this crisis of fentanyl consumption that they have, which is leading to overdose deaths,” he said.
He also acknowledged that the agreement is the result of the work of the Mexican Government Cabinet, which, he said, is a great team.
“The team is with me because this is really a task of the Cabinet, of the whole team, of Security, of Economy, of Finance, of the Interior, of everyone. We are a great team, the truth is that I am, I feel not only supported, but that we have really managed to build a great team in the Cabinet,” she commented.
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