‘Response In Kind’: Mexican President Hints At Retaliation Against Trump Tariff Threats

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum strongly suggested she will retaliate if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on her country.

In a sharply worded letter addressed to the president-elect, Sheinbaum encouraged Americans to spend more money on “fostering development” in lieu of war, blamed the U.S. for the number of guns in Mexico and gave her country credit for the drop in migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border. She also warned that her government would have a “response in kind” if Trump moves forward with a threat to slap a 25% tariff on all Mexican goods.

“President Trump, migration and drug consumption in the United States cannot be addressed through threats or tariffs,” Sheinbaum wrote Tuesday to the upcoming president, according to a translation of her letter. “What is needed is cooperation and mutual understanding to tackle these significant challenges.”

“For every tariff, there will be a response in kind, until we put at risk our shared enterprises,” she continued. “Yes, shared.”

Sheinbaum’s letter came in response to a Monday announcement from Trump, in which he posted on social media that on day one of his administration he would impose a 25% tariff on all Mexican and Canadian goods until their governments do more to limit the level of drugs and illegal migration flowing into the U.S.

In what appeared to be a more diplomatic approach to the tariff threat, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he reached out to Trump Monday night and that they had “a good call” about the issue and how their two countries are very much interlinked economically, according