Sheinbaum defends Mexico’s sweeping new tariffs: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

Mexico’s soon-to-be enacted tariffs, a 1944 h2o pact and tourism promotion successful China were among the topics spoken astir astatine President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday greeting property conference.

Here is simply a recap of the president’s Dec. 11 mañanera.

Sheinbaum: Tariffs don’t specifically people China 

Sheinbaum said that the tariff measure that has present been approved by some houses of Congress “is not aimed astatine China,” whose exports to Mexico person accrued importantly successful caller years, leaving Mexico with a ample commercialized shortage with the world’s No. 2 economy.

“That’s precise important,” she said. “It’s [aimed] astatine the countries with which we don’t person commercialized agreements.”

The authorities passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate connected Wednesday will, arsenic of Jan. 1, instrumentality oregon summation tariffs connected imports of much than 1,400 products from China and different countries with which Mexico doesn’t person commercialized agreements, including India, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. A cardinal purpose of the tariffs is to support Mexican concern sectors, immoderate of which conflict to vie with inexpensive imports from Asia.

Sheinbaum said that the implementation of the caller and higher tariffs is portion of the strategy outlined successful Plan México, the national government’s ambitious economical inaugural that was presented successful January.

🇲🇽MEXICO:

Widely seen arsenic a determination to appease Trump up of the #USMCA 2026 review, Sheinbaum’s conjugation successful Congress conscionable passed a drastic summation successful tariffs connected imports from countries with which Mexico does not person commercialized agreements

Some wonderment if Sheinbaum caved successful excessively soon https://t.co/dA4HEXDPy1

— José Díaz Briseño (@diazbriseno) December 11, 2025

“What is the strategy? To nutrient much successful Mexico,” she said.

Sheinbaum acknowledged that galore of the tariffs she primitively projected successful a measure sent to Congress successful September were lowered aft consultation with Mexican and overseas concern representatives.

“There was besides connection with South Korea, determination was connection with China. Our ambassador successful China was precise progressive successful explaining the reasons [for the tariffs], and the archetypal connection changed significantly,” she said.

Asked astir the Chinese government’s telephone for Mexico to promptly “correct its incorrect practices of unilateralism and protectionism,” Sheinbaum said that her authorities engages with its Chinese counterpart connected commercialized successful “work meetings” with China’s Ministry of Commerce.

“We precocious projected that determination could beryllium a high-level gathering … astir antithetic issues, and the thought is that these meetings tin instrumentality place,” she said.

“Our involvement is not to make struggle with immoderate state successful the world. And we respect China a batch and person precise bully relations with them,” Sheinbaum said.

“The crushed for these adjustments successful the Law [on General Import and Export Taxes] has to bash with strengthening the nationalist economy,” she added.

Bilateral h2o talks continue 

Sheinbaum said that her authorities remains successful talks with the Trump medication implicit Mexico’s work to present h2o to the United States.

The latest talks began aft U.S. President Donald Trump threatened connected Monday to enforce an further 5% tariff connected Mexican goods if Mexico doesn’t promptly merchandise a important quantity of the h2o it owes to the United States nether the presumption of a 1944 treaty.

Mexico faces caller tariff menace from Trump implicit h2o debt

Sheinbaum subsequently expressed assurance that “we’re going to scope an statement for the payment of the United States and for the payment of Mexico.”

On Thursday morning, she said that advancement has been made, but noted determination would beryllium different bilateral gathering aboriginal successful the day.

Sheinbaum said that “there has to beryllium designation from some countries” that Mexico endured “five years of drought” during the past five-year rhythm of the h2o treaty.

In each five-year cycle, Mexico is required to nonstop 1.75 cardinal acre-feet of h2o crossed the bluish borderline from six tributaries of the Rio Grande. However, it lone delivered conscionable implicit fractional that magnitude successful the 2020-25 cycle.

Sheinbaum said that Mexico’s nonaccomplishment to present each the h2o it was expected to transportation to the U.S. during the past five-year rhythm was not due to the fact that it didn’t privation to.

Rather, she said, it was due to the fact that “there was drought — due to the fact that determination wasn’t water, it’s arsenic elemental arsenic that.”

Despite a generous rainy season, drought and adust conditions persist on overmuch of the Mexico-U.S. border, according to the National Water Commission. (Cuartoscuro)

Sheinbaum noted that the 1944 pact establishes that if a state fails to conscionable their h2o work to their neighbor, it tin marque up the shortfall successful the adjacent five-year cycle.

“That’s what we’re moving on,” she said.

How soon Mexico tin marque up the shortfall “depends connected however overmuch rainfall we have,” Sheinbaum said.

Mexico’s tourism promotion strategy successful China 

While the Mexican authorities is seeking to bounds the introduction of Chinese goods to Mexico it would similar to spot much Chinese radical visiting the country.

Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez acknowledged that extremity connected Thursday morning, telling reporters that the ministry she leads volition commence a run of “constant promotion” successful “emerging” tourism markets, including China, successful 2026.

She noted that the fig of Chinese visitors accrued 10.6% annually successful the archetypal 10 months of the year, and offered an penetration into however Mexico is being promoted arsenic a tourism destination successful China.

International visitation is up implicit 13% this year

Rodríguez noted that Mexico held a tianguis turístico (tourism fair) successful Beijing this year, and revealed that it volition be 2 planetary tourism events successful China adjacent year.

She said that immoderate Chinese tourists travel to Mexico due to the fact that of their involvement successful Day of the Dead celebrations. Rodríguez highlighted that Coco, the 2017 movie that is inspired by Day of the Dead, was precise fashionable successful China.

“And each this makes the Chinese marketplace privation to travel to larn astir the culture. We stock galore ancestral things,” she said.

Rodríguez besides said that Mexico’s tourism promotion strategy successful China is antithetic to that employed successful different countries.

“As you know, you can’t look astatine Instagram, you can’t look astatine Facebook [in China]. So, the strategy is precise different,” she said.

Rodríguez explained that the Tourism Ministry is moving with “Mexican influencers who person lived successful China for galore years” — and presumably look connected integer platforms that are much readily accessible to Chinese citizens — arsenic good arsenic Mexican restaurants successful China.

Those influencers and restaurants are “helping america to say: This is Mexico,'” the tourism curate said.

By Mexico News Daily main unit writer Peter Davies ([email protected])