Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week that her country will wait until this weekend to announce retaliatory tariffs against the United States.
The announcement came as negotiations continued to end President Trump's tariffs before they cause more pain in both countries.
In her morning press conference, Sheinbaum called Trump's moves to enact 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada a no-win situation.
“Nadie gana con esta decisión,” she said. "No one gains from this decision."
Hours after the tariffs went into effect, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sent mixed signals and said they won’t be paused but that Trump is open to meeting Mexico and Canada “in the middle."
Sofía Ramírez, general director of the think tank México ¿Cómo Vamos?, said Mexico has more to lose when it comes to the trade war. It would face the potential loss of millions of jobs — pushing more people into migration or criminal networks.
“Mexico was very clear that this is not in our best interest to have retaliation terms set in place,” she added.
Negotiations between the two countries continued on trade and border security ahead of Sheinbaum's deadline of Sunday to detail Mexico's retaliatory tariffs.
Economic experts like Ray Perryman, the president of the Perryman Group, an economic research company, said a good chunk of these additional costs will be offset onto consumers.
The effects will likely be felt as soon as this week at grocery stores, particularly with perishable fruits and veggies. Gas prices are also expected to increase.
"We think it would add about $1,500 to the cost of goods for an average household," Perryman explained, "when you factor in the inflation impact as well as the impact it's going to have on our supply chains."
Houston Public Media's Lucio Vasquez contributed to this report.
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