Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to increase imports from the United States at the expense of other countries, with the aim of reducing the imbalance in trade exchange between the two countries, an issue that displeases her counterpart, Donald Trump.
Mexico's exports to the United States far exceed its imports from its neighbor and first trading partner, which led to a trade surplus for Mexico of $197 billion last year.
Trump accuses the countries with which the United States has a trade deficit of exploiting the largest economy in the world, and has resorted to imposing customs duties to punish them.
Sheinbaum noted that Mexico already buys more American goods and services than any other country, but she pledged to do more in this regard.
She said: “We aim to buy more from the United States and reduce our purchases from other countries, which will reduce the trade deficit with them.”
Her response to Trump's dismay over the trade deficit comes at a time when her government is trying to convince Washington to reduce tariffs on a range of Mexican goods.
The two countries, along with Canada, are part of a free trade agreement, the fate of which has become uncertain since Trump returned to the White House last year.
Trump launched an all-out trade war against Canada, ignoring the existence of this agreement.
Although his approach towards Mexico was less harsh, Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Mexican aluminum and steel imports as part of global tariff measures, and also targeted the vital Mexican auto sector.
Sheinbaum said last week that her government was making progress in talks with Washington regarding reducing customs duties.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard is scheduled to travel to Washington next week to continue these talks.
The White House said that China has agreed to import at least 10 million metric tons of coal from the United States next year, and again in 2028, in a sign of additional progress in easing trade frictions between the world's two largest economies, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.
Bloomberg quoted the White House as saying in a statement that the two sides will also seek to impose more preferential tariffs on non-sensitive goods worth $30 billion from both countries, as part of the agreement reached within the framework of the newly activated US-China Trade Council.
The statement said that American products eligible for preferential customs duties include agricultural goods, seafood, lumber, cosmetics, and medical devices.
Chinese consumer goods, such as small appliances, toys, holiday decorations, and children's car seats, are included in the agreement.
The two countries also formed a working group focused on addressing market access barriers in agriculture, a sector that has long been a focal issue in bilateral trade negotiations.
Separately, Washington and Beijing established an investment council aimed at discussing investment opportunities and removing investment-related obstacles.
According to the statement, the two sides also confirmed that they will continue to work to address US concerns about supply chain shortages related to rare earth metals and other vital minerals.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama expressed, during online discussions with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, both sides' concern about "the decline in the value of the yen."
“We discussed the desire for a strong yen that reflects Japan’s strong economic fundamentals,” Besant wrote on social media following their talks, which came days after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi met with US President Donald Trump in New York.
Katayama told reporters that there may have been some “misunderstanding” in the currency market, without going into details, amid mounting fears that the deteriorating financial situation in Japan would lead to a decline in the value of the yen.
Katayama added: “We reiterated that the depreciation of the yen is a problem. We also exchanged views on financial market developments and other issues and stressed that Japan and the United States will further enhance their cooperation.
