Mexico president hopeful of deal this week to avert U.S. tariffs

Mexico's president said Monday she was optimistic about reaching an agreement with Donald Trump this week to avoid sweeping U.S. tariffs, hinting at possible levies on Chinese goods to secure a deal.

Claudia Sheinbaum said talks with Washington would continue this week in an effort to avoid the 25 percent tariffs that Trump agreed on February 3 to "pause" for a month.

Teams from Mexico's economy and finance ministries are in Washington and if necessary Sheinbaum said she would speak with Trump again by phone, adding: "Whatever it takes to reach an agreement."

Asked about a Bloomberg News report that the United States was pushing her government to impose duties on Chinese imports, Sheinbaum said it was important to "prioritize those places where you have trade agreements versus others where you do not have them."

"We do not have a free trade agreement with China, for example... So that's part of what is being worked on in this working group," she added.

Both Trump and Canadian officials have accused Mexico of being a gateway for Chinese products coming into North America.

In an apparent bid to ease those concerns, Sheinbaum recently presented a plan to replace Chinese imports with domestically produced goods.

She signaled Monday that Mexico was open to an early review of its free trade agreement with the United States and Canada ahead of a 2026 deadline, saying it "can begin now."

"The issue is to reach an agreement that allows us to protect and guarantee that there are no tariffs between our countries," she said.

Mexico faces mounting pressure from Washington to do more to curb illegal flows of migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl.

Sheinbaum called for a review of how the chemical precursors used to make the deadly opioid arrive in North America.

"Do the precursors enter through the United States? We don't know. Why is it only said that they enter through Mexico and Canada?" she said.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Mexican drug cartels dominate the illicit fentanyl market using precursor chemicals mostly sourced from China-based suppliers.

© Agence France-Presse