Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum said she proposed to US president Donald Trump that their countries could sign a "general agreement" on key cross-border problems, suggesting the deal could be made before the US, Mexico and Canada free trade agreement (USMCA) is renegotiated.
The presidents were set to meet this week at the G7 summit in Canada, but Trump left early and had a "good call" with Sheinbaum on the phone instead, Sheinbaum and the White House said.
Sheinbaum said today she proposed Mexico and the US sign a single agreement on cross-border security, including drugs crossing into the US, migration and commerce — topics Trump flagged as major issues between the countries.
Mexico has mostly managed to steer clear of Trump's on-again/off-again trade action, but has not been able to convince Trump to remove steep import tariffs on steel, aluminum and automotive parts. Sheinbaum previously said she hoped to get Trump to remove these tariffs by addressing security and migration issues while getting support from the US to stem the flow of arms into Mexico.
Trump on Monday described ongoing trade negotiations as an easy process. "We are dealing with really, if you think about it, probably 175 countries, and most of them can just be sent a letter saying, 'It will be an honor to trade with you, and here's what you're going to have to pay to do'", Trump said.
But that same day he pushed back on calls from Canada and the EU to negotiate trade deals, arguing that their approach is too complicated. "You get too complex on the deals and they never get done," Trump said.
Canada and the US also aim to strike a trade deal within 30 days, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said on Monday after meeting with Trump.
Trump has been pushing Mexico into an early renegotiation of the USMCA. But the talks with Canada and the call with Mexico suggest Trump could finalize separate deals with Mexico and Canada before the USMCA's renegotiations are finished.
