Mexico Has Plan to Counter Trump Tariffs, Says President

Tariffs have gone into effect on Mexican and Canadian goods to the United States, as well goods from China.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum attend a military parade commemorating the 114th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution at the Zocalo square in Mexico City, on November 20, 2024. Rodrigo Oropeza/AFP via Getty Images

Mexico has backup plans designed to counter U.S. tariffs, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday.

“We have a plan B, C, D,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference in Mexico City, adding that she would elaborate upon the details Tuesday, when the tariffs go into effect.

”We have a plan and a lot of unity,” she said in a social media post. “Mexico has a solid economy, we are always going to defend the country.”

Mexican officials met with their U.S. counterparts in Washington last week to tackle trade and security policy, a bid from Mexico to stave off the imposition of tariffs, albeit to no avail.

Canada’s Prime Minister has already answered the U.S. tariffs.

“Should American tariffs come into effect tonight, Canada will, effective 12:01 a.m. EST tomorrow, respond with 25 percent tariffs against $155 billion of American goods—starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time,” Trudeau said in a statement.

The prime minister said the tariffs would remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn.

“While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal.”

President Donald Trump said on March 3 the 25 percent tariffs against Mexico and Canada will go ahead as planned on Tuesday, adding that no last minute negotiations would be able to prevent them from going into effect.

“The tariffs, they’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “No room left for Mexico or for Canada.”

Trump first floated the idea of implementing tariffs on the two countries in November 2024 before he took office on Jan. 20, saying the nations have not done enough to stop the flow of illicit drugs and illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

Trump has also said he wants to fix trade imbalances and lure factories to relocate to the United States.

The 25 percent tariffs were originally set to go into effect on Feb. 4 but were paused for a month to allow Mexico and Canada more time to respond to the U.S. demands. Mexico sent 10,000 troops to its northern border but hasn’t taken sufficient action to curb the flow of fentanyl, the Trump administration has said.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former president and chief executive of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, told CNN on Monday that the two countries still need to do more to stop the movement of fentanyl coming into the United States.

“He knows they’ve done a good job on the border. They haven’t done enough on fentanyl,” Lutnick said.

The president repeated this sentiment in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

“Drugs are still pouring into our country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels,” Trump wrote on Feb. 27.

Canada and Mexico are not the only countries facing imminent tariffs. Additional tariffs on Chinese goods also went into effect at 12 a.m. ET Tuesday. In an amended executive order on March 3, Trump doubled the existing 10 percent tariffs on goods from China to 20 percent, citing the “sustained influx of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.”

China has also responded with 10 to 15 percent increases on tariffs on various U.S. imports, like agricultural products. It also placed 25 U.S. firms under export and investment restriction.