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MEXICO CITY (CN) — U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his decision to impose 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports in a Monday afternoon press conference, ending a previous deal between the two nations that delayed the tariffs one month.
“The tariffs, you know, they’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow," he said from the West Wing, causing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to drop by nearly 800 points on Monday.
Mexican President Sheinbaum called for patience and calm during her Monday morning press conference regarding President Donald Trump’s planned 25% tariff rate beginning Tuesday. The tariff hike on all goods imported from Mexico was originally scheduled for last month but the two national leaders reached a deal delaying the decision.
Multiple economic plans are in place in response to the tariffs, signaled Sheinbaum.
“We have been in communication, we have made the necessary agreements and coordination, but it is a decision that depends on the United States government,” Sheinbaum said about Trump during the press conference before his announcement was made.
On Feb. 11, Trump issued a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum to go into effect on March 12, a move that Mexico Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard said violated the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The agreement replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement on July 1, 2020, and is up for review next year.
On Feb. 3, Mexico and the U.S. reached a deal that delayed a raise on tariffs on all Mexican imports. Part of the deal stated that Mexico needs to beef up its security to decrease the flow of drugs into the U.S. while the U.S. will investigate its part in trafficking guns to Mexico.
Mexico respected its part of the deal and on Feb. 5, began “Operation Frontera Norte,” sending the first of 10,000 Mexican National Guard and Army troops to northern border states.
According to Mexican government data, between the beginning of the operation on Feb. 5 and Feb. 27, 914 people were arrested and 896 firearms and 36,702 pounds of drugs seized.
“We want to reduce the crossing of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States. We want drugs and weapons from the United States to stop coming to Mexico,” Sheinbaum said Monday.
In a historic event that showed the Mexican government’s willingness to cooperate with the U.S. government to avoid tariffs, it transferred 29 cartel leaders to U.S. soil on Feb. 27.
One of the criminals transferred was Rafael Caro Quintero, who now faces charges in the torture and murder of former Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in Guadalajara in 1985.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Mexican government arguments that place blame on American gunmakers for their role in cartel violence within Mexico. Mexico argues that American gunmakers intentionally and knowingly sell guns through nefarious dealers and tailor products to cartel bosses.
“They embrace distribution practices they know enable these red-flag dealers to illegally sell to cartel traffickers. And they intentionally do all this to boost their bottom lines. This constitutes classic aiding and abetting, in violation of federal law,” the Mexican government said in its brief to the Supreme Court.
According to one report, half of all firearms found in Mexico between 2016 and 2022 “for which a source could be identified” were manufactured in the U.S.
Another report states that an estimated 250,000 guns are purchased in the U.S. to be trafficked to Mexico each year.
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