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🇲🇽 Mexico /Economy & Trade

Trump says Mexico offers the U.S. only “spicy tamales and tomatoes” as he defends trade ties

From El Universal · () Spanish

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

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Donald Trump said the United States loses $195 billion a year in trade with Mexico and claimed Mexico offers few goods that Americans need.
  • Trump said he would not halt trade with Mexico because he has a good relationship with President Claudia Sheinbaum.
  • His remarks came amid tensions involving U.S. trade relationships with Mexico and Canada and uncertainty around the North American trade agreement.

Donald Trump said Mexico has little to offer the United States beyond “spicy tamales and tomatoes,” yet he also said he did not intend to interrupt the two countries’ trade relationship.

If I stopped trading with them, we wouldn’t lose anything. It would take just one signature. We lose $195 billion a year with Mexico. They don’t have anything that we really need.

· Donald TrumpTrump criticized the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico during remarks to reporters in the Oval Office.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the United States lost $195 billion a year through trade with Mexico. “If I stopped trading with them, we wouldn’t lose anything. It would take just one signature,” he said, arguing that Mexico had nothing the United States really needed.

Trump said the United States had all the resources it required. “We have oil, we have everything,” he said. He then softened his trade rhetoric by praising his relationship with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. “I don’t want to do that because we get along very well with the president. We like the president, we respect her very much,” he said.

We have oil, we have everything.

· Donald TrumpTrump argued that the United States had all the resources it needed.

The comments came as trade tensions also grew between the United States and Canada. The two countries had broken off trade talks, while Washington imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian products and Ottawa prepared similar countermeasures.

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

· Donald TrumpHe explained why he did not plan to end trade ties with Mexico.

The dispute has cast doubt on the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, signed by the three North American countries in 2018. Sheinbaum said Mexico’s relationship with Washington had faced difficulties but expressed confidence that the two governments could reach an understanding on security and trade. The latest review of the agreement took place in Mexico City in July, covering tariffs on automobiles, steel, aluminum and agricultural products, along with economic security.

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

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

Originally published by El Universal 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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