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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Trump says Mexico has little to offer the US beyond “spicy tamales and tomatoes”

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • President Donald Trump said Mexico had little to offer the United States beyond “spicy tamales and tomatoes,” while arguing that Washington loses $195 billion a year in trade with Mexico.
  • Trump said he would not end trade ties because he has a good relationship with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
  • The comments came amid US-Canada tariff tensions and ongoing discussions over the North American trade agreement.

Donald Trump said Mexico had little to offer the United States beyond “spicy tamales and tomatoes,” but also said he did not plan to disrupt the countries’ trade relationship because he gets along well with President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump repeated his threat to cut trade with countries that run trade surpluses with the United States. He said Washington loses $195 billion a year with Mexico and argued that the United States would lose nothing by ending commerce with its southern neighbor.

If I stopped trading with them, we would lose nothing. It would only take one signature. We lose $195 billion a year with Mexico. They have nothing that we really need. I mean, they have spicy tamales, tomatoes, a couple of things, but basically they have nothing that we need.

· Donald TrumpTrump discussed his trade deficit argument and Mexico’s exports while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.

“If I stopped trading with them, we would lose nothing. It would only take one signature,” Trump said. “They have nothing that we really need. I mean, they have spicy tamales, tomatoes, a couple of things, but basically they have nothing that we need.” He added that the United States had all the resources it required, including oil.

We have oil, we have everything.

· Donald TrumpTrump argued that the United States has all the resources it needs.

Trump nevertheless said he wanted to preserve the historic commercial ties with Mexico. “I don’t want to do that because we get along very well with the president. We like the president, and we respect her very much,” he said.

His remarks came as trade tensions with Canada intensified. The United States has imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods, while Ottawa has responded with similar tariffs due to take effect the following week. The dispute has cast doubt on the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, signed by the three countries in 2018.

I don’t want to do that because we get along very well with the president. We like the president, and we respect her very much.

· Donald TrumpTrump explained why he did not intend to end trade ties with Mexico.

Sheinbaum said Tuesday that, despite difficulties in the relationship with Washington, she expected an understanding on security and trade. The latest review talks on the agreement took place in Mexico City in July and covered tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum, as well as agriculture and economic security. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard agreed after the meeting to continue discussions in September.

In trade, we have permanent dialogue with the government of the United States and we hope to reach an understanding.

· Claudia SheinbaumSheinbaum described Mexico’s approach to ongoing trade discussions with Washington.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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