Sheinbaum Says Mexico Won’t Take the Bait: ‘We Will Not Fall for Any Provocation’ From the US

Mexico City — President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government is not looking for a conflict with the United States and will not respond to every statement coming from north of the border, telling reporters at her daily morning press conference: “We don’t need to respond to everything they say.”

The president said the United States is in the middle of an election process and warned that Mexico will not walk into “any provocation that leads us into a conflict.” Her comments came a day after President Donald Trump asked a rally in South Carolina how Sheinbaum had gone “from dancer to president of Mexico.”

“We are not looking for conflict with the United States, no,” Sheinbaum said. “What we are looking for is the best possible negotiation for them and for us, without ceding sovereignty or territorial integrity, and always seeking the wellbeing of the people of Mexico and the interests of the nation.”

A ‘Cool Head’ and Firm Principles

Sheinbaum defended the approach she has taken with Washington, describing it as one of “a cool head, of not picking fights, of seeking a good understanding while guaranteeing our principles,” and argued it has helped the bilateral relationship.

“Here you can be very friendly and cordial but firm on principles,” she added.

The president acknowledged that agreements with the United States sometimes take time, but said Mexico is currently in “a very favorable competitive position relative to the rest of the world.”

Sovereignty Comes First

Turning to trade negotiations, Sheinbaum said Trump’s arrival brought “a different vision for the whole world” through tariffs, but that North American integration has held even under those measures.

She insisted that economic integration does not have to come at the cost of sovereignty. “There are some who think economic integration means ceding sovereignty, and we are not willing to do that,” she said, recalling that Article 39 of the Constitution states that sovereignty resides in the people.

Sheinbaum said it is legitimate for the United States to pursue reindustrialization, but argued it should not come at the expense of jobs in Mexico. She noted that after more than three decades of the regional trade agreement, some products cross the border up to 16 times before they are finished, and that the region is more competitive together against Asia and China than it would be country by country.