Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum holds a press conference to announce response to U.S. tariffs, at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico March 4, 2025 REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum thanked her U.S. counterpart Donald Trump for an "excellent and respectful" call on Thursday, promising that her government would work on security and migration as Washington temporarily eased tariffs.
After the call, Trump announced that Mexico would not be required to pay tariffs on any goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal until April 2, when Trump has promised reciprocal tariffs for all countries.
Most of what Mexico imports to the U.S. is compliant with the trade deal, Sheinbaum said at a press conference after the announcement.
Sheinbaum said both countries would continue working together to stem the arrival of the opioid fentanyl from Mexico into the United States, a key point of contention in negotiations over Washington's 25% tariffs on Mexican imports.
"We had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, within the framework of respect for our sovereignties," Sheinbaum said in a post on X.
Sheinbaum added that the two countries would also work to curb the arrival of guns from the U.S. in Mexico.
The Mexican peso held stable in mid-morning trading versus the dollar after Trump first announced the agreement, while the nation's stock index briefly spiked before paring its gains.
Mexico and the United States are each other's top trading partners, with many industries, including autos, benefiting from the cross-border movement of goods facilitated by their trilateral trade deal that also includes Canada.
On Wednesday, the White House had announced a one-month tariff reprieve for carmakers if they comply with the existing USMCA trade deal.
Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that the administration could spare more products from the tariffs, with an announcement coming as soon as later on Thursday.
Sheinbaum on Thursday said that a rally planned for Sunday in Mexico City's historic Zocalo square to outline her response to the U.S. tariffs would now be a "festival."
(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Brendan O'Boyle; editing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Alistair Bell)
