Sensible and steely: how Mexico's Sheinbaum has dealt with Trump
The pair are known to get along despite sitting on opposite sides of the political aisle, earning Mexico's first woman president the epithet of "Trump whisperer."
At least three times now, the US president has granted Mexico tariff relief and Trump has described Sheinbaum as a "wonderful woman" to the envy of a host of other world leaders who have found exchanges with Trump can be tetchy.
On Thursday, Trump agreed to delay by 90 days a 30 percent general tariff on imported Mexican goods, just hours before it was to take effect.
It was the outcome of the ninth phone conversation between the two leaders since Trump returned to power in January with a strong rhetoric against undocumented migrants and fentanyl flowing from America's southern neighbor.
How did she do it? "With a cool head," the president herself told reporters Friday.
The 63-year-old physicist and dedicated leftist added that she avoids "confronting" the magnate, all the while insisting on Mexico's sovereign rights in dealing with a man known to respect strong leaders.
Sheinbaum has said that Mexicans should "never bow our heads" and Trump has acknowledged her mettle, remarking: "You're tough" in one phone call, according to The New York Times.
"Mexico represents a lot to the United States... they are aware of that," Sheinbaum explained.
- 'Ability to convince' -
Thanks to the USMCA free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, nearly 85 percent of Mexican exports have been tariff-free.
And while a 30 percent general tariff has been delayed, for now, Mexico's vital automotive sector is the target of a 25 percent levy, albeit with discounts for parts manufactured in the United States.
Its steel and aluminum sectors, like those of other countries, are subject to a 50 percent tariff.
Mexico's government nevertheless claims the latest delay as a victory.
"Without being sycophantic, I can tell you that the way our president handles her conversations, her approach, the firmness with which she defends Mexico's interests, her ability to convince President Trump, is very significant," Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard, who leads trade negotiations, told reporters Thursday.
- Give and take -
Sheinbaum seems also to have adopted a give and take approach, deploying thousands of border troops to assuage Trump's concerns about migration and drug flows.
The president insists she has "not yielded anything" in negotiations with Trump, and talks are ongoing between the neighbors for a security agreement to tackle the problem of fentanyl and drug trafficking.
Sheinbaum has also raised the possibility of importing more US products to reset the trade balance.
Some fear the Mexican leader is merely buying time.
The latest tariff delay "does not solve the issue of uncertainty; we return to the starting point," Diego Marroquin, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told AFP.
bur/yug/axm/mlr/aks
Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MetLife (MET) To Report Earnings Tomorrow: Here Is What To Expect
Global insurance giant MetLife (NYSE:MET) will be reporting results this Wednesday afternoon. Here's what investors should know. MetLife beat analysts' revenue expectations by 3% last quarter, reporting revenues of $18.83 billion, up 10.6% year on year. It was a slower quarter for the company, with a significant miss of analysts' book value per share estimates and a miss of analysts' EPS estimates. Is MetLife a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free. This quarter, analysts are expecting MetLife's revenue to be flat year on year at $18.64 billion, in line with its flat revenue from the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $2.16 per share. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. MetLife has missed Wall Street's revenue estimates four times over the last two years. Looking at MetLife's peers in the life insurance segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Corebridge Financial delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 5.8%, beating analysts' expectations by 7.3%, and Lincoln Financial Group reported revenues up 4.4%, topping estimates by 1.1%. Lincoln Financial Group traded up 7.8% following the results. Read our full analysis of Corebridge Financial's results here and Lincoln Financial Group's results here. Debates around the economy's health and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts have caused much uncertainty in 2025. While some of the life insurance stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 2.9% on average over the last month. MetLife is down 5.3% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $94.14 (compared to the current share price of $75). Unless you've been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) semiconductor stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report on our favorite semiconductor growth story. StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Most ethics complaints filed against NM lawmakers resolved quietly
Aug. 4—SANTA FE — The recent internal ethics investigation into top Senate Democrat Mimi Stewart marked the first time in years that a complaint against a New Mexico lawmaker led to a public hearing. But there have been no shortage of filed complaints. With the exception of the complaint against Stewart, all other allegations of misconduct filed against lawmakers in the last five years — there have been a total of 17 — were quietly resolved without any details being publicly released, according to legislative records. Some of the complaints that date back to January 2020 were dismissed following an internal investigation, while others were informally settled or withdrawn. The recent trends have prompted some current and former legislators to say flaws in the system need fixing. Former state Sen. Mark Moores, a Republican who stepped down last year, said New Mexico's current legislative ethics system is tainted by partisan politics. "The system is working as intended, because the system was set up so leadership could still retain control," Moores said . He said the system should be changed to more closely model the congressional ethics system, which features an independent, nonpartisan office that reviews allegations of misconduct against members of Congress and staffers. The public currently lacks confidence in New Mexico's legislative ethics system, Moores added, in large part because leading legislators function as gatekeepers of sorts who determine whether complaints filed against lawmakers should move forward. "You're never going to have a fair hearing against anyone in leadership because they appoint their cronies," he said. Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, said lawmakers have struggled to find the right balance between transparency and protecting themselves from possible politically-driven complaints. "I think each time we see this process used, we see areas that need improvement," said Duhigg, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee. She said she would support changes to the legislative ethics system such as simplifying the wording of ethics policies and protocols, along with mandatory mediation to try to resolve complaints involving legislators and staffers. "I think we are on the right road, but there is room for improvement," Duhigg said. A recent history of tie votes The complaint against Stewart, the Senate's president pro tem since 2021, was filed by a legislative staffer in February after the veteran lawmaker allegedly shouted at her during a heated moment during this year's 60-day legislative session. After an initial panel of lawmakers found probable cause existed to advance the complaint, a legislative ethics hearing subcommittee recommended last week the complaint against Stewart be dismissed. But the recommendation was made via a party-line 4-3 vote, with retired state Supreme Court Justice Richard Bosson siding with the subcommittee's three Senate Democrats. The three Senate Republicans appointed to the panel voted against dismissing the complaint, while maintaining that sanctions should be imposed in the case. The presence of a retired judge or attorney on the subcommittee was due to a 2022 rule change that was intended to allow for tie votes to be broken, said Randall Cherry, the Legislative Council Service's assistant director for legislative affairs. Before that change was made, several internal ethics probes stalled due to tie votes, according to legislators familiar with the investigations. Transparency issues and concerns One of the reasons the public is left in the dark about most legislative ethics investigations is the existence of confidentiality provisions in both state law and the Legislature's anti-harassment policy. Specifically, the policy stipulates that harassment complaints and documents related to any investigation shall be kept confidential, even under New Mexico's public records law. The confidentiality provision was challenged in a 2022 lawsuit filed by a lobbyist who had accused then-Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto of sexual harassment. But the lawsuit was dismissed a year later. Amanda Lavin, the legal director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, said citizen complaints are generally required to be made public under a Court of Appeals ruling. She also said the open government group believes any disciplinary action taken by the Legislature against its own members should be public information. But Lavin also pointed out the Legislature is not subject to New Mexico's Open Meetings Act, and state law allows legislators to hold certain types of meetings behind closed doors. "There are a lot of things they can discuss in private and then not even have to disclose what was discussed," Lavin said. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Republicans make gains in New Mexico voter registration, including in Santa Fe County
While New Mexico remains solidly blue territory, Republicans continue to make gains in the state's voter registration rolls. The GOP even added more voters in Santa Fe County, one of the most liberal and Democratic-performing areas in the state. Granted, the 5.8% year-over-year increase in registered Republicans in Santa Fe County equates to only about 1,000 voters, but it reflects a statewide trend. The number of registered Republicans across New Mexico grew from 421,653 in July 2024 to 436,647 last month, an increase of nearly 15,000 voters, according to the latest voter registration data. At the same time, Democrats lost just over 11,000 voters. Despite Republicans' gains, the proportion of voters in each major political party remains relatively flat in the state, with Democrats accounting for about 43% of the electorate and Republicans 32% — although, the GOP added a percentage point and Democrats lost one. The increase in Republican voters may reflect a Democratic Party struggling to find its message, Brian Sanderoff, an Albuquerque political analyst and respected pollster, said Monday. "I think the Democratic Party is trying to find its way, especially at the national level, and that can impact voter registration statistics," he added. The Republican Party of New Mexico started the year with the ambitious goal of registering 25,000 new voters, and Sanderoff said it has been doing a good job registering voters at the "grassroots level." The party's executive director, Leticia Muñoz, said everything the party does revolves around voter outreach. "RPNM takes great pride in the work being done by grassroots volunteers to register voters around the state over the last 5 years," she said in a statement. Muñoz also credits the commander in chief. "President [Donald] Trumps' policies continue to benefit New Mexicans greatly, which is another reason we're seeing many voters registering Republican," she said. A spokesperson for the Democratic Party of New Mexico downplayed the increase in registered Republicans. "There is a significantly smaller number of Republicans in New Mexico anyway, so any percentage change will look more dramatic than the reality of the total numbers," Daniel Garcia said in a statement. "I suppose the New Mexico GOP has to spin something to look like good news," he added. "They're obviously in a tough place trying to explain why voters should support quid pro quo immunity deals for child predator Ghislaine Maxwell and the GOP's signature accomplishment — their unpopular 'Big Beautiful Bill' that will close hospitals, eliminate health care coverage, and take away food assistance right here in New Mexico. Not to mention they'll have to explain to voters why they think tariffs, inflation, and privatizing Social Security will make us 'great again.' ' Voter registration data shows a slight increase in independent or "decline-to-state" voters, a number that grew from 315,772 to 320,988. The percentage of unaffiliated voters has been rising over the past decade and a half, a trend that will likely continue after New Mexico adopted a "semi-open primary" system, which allows voters who don't state a party affiliation to cast a ballot in a Democratic or Republican primary without changing their registration. In the state's most populous counties — Bernalillo, Doña Ana and Santa Fe, which are crucial in a statewide race — Democrats have a comfortable edge over Republicans. In those three counties combined, there are 324,152 registered Democrats and 177,070 registered Republicans. Independents are closing in on Republicans, though. The data show 168,351 "decline-to-state" voters in those three counties. Muñoz said Republicans are intent on gaining even more ground. "RPNM will continue our goal to flip New Mexico," she said, adding it's taken six to eight years to flip other blue states red. Asked whether Republicans' gains would affect the governor's race next year, Sanderoff said changes in voter registration are used to measure the direction of the state, but he noted Democrats maintain an advantage. "If you're consistently seeing Republicans make voter registration gains and Democrats stagnating on voter registration statistics, that is a barometer that one looks at to measure the political mood," he said. "It can be a predictor, but it's all relative, and you still have the lopsided voter registration edge that the Democrats have in terms of the actual numbers."
