Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says there is no justification for US President Donald Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and says her government will respond with tariff and non-tariff measures.
"There is no reason, rationale or justification to support this decision that will affect our people and nations ... Nobody wins with this decision," Sheinbaum said at her regular morning press conference.
Trump's tariff actions went live just after midnight in Washington DC after an initial 30-day pause, during which Mexican officials engaged in talks with the US and bolstered security at the US-Mexico border.
Trump on Monday declared that Mexico, along with Canada and China, had failed to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the US.
Sheinbaum said Mexico had collaborated with the US on migration, security and anti-drug trafficking.
"In these 30 days, decisive actions were taken against organised crime and fentanyl trafficking, as well as bilateral meetings on security and trade," Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum said she would give details on Mexico's response, including retaliatory tariffs, at an event in the capital's iconic Zocalo square on Sunday.
The delay may indicate indicating Mexican officials still hope to de-escalate the trade war set off by Trump.
Sheinbaum added she would speak with Trump this week, "probably on Thursday".
The Mexican peso weakened on Tuesday morning, trading down about one per cent against the US dollar.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Trump on Tuesday that his new tariffs on Canadian imports were "a very dumb thing to do" and said his country was striking back immediately.
Trudeau said Canada was imposing immediate 25 per cent tariffs on US imports.
"There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today," Trudeau told reporters, adding that Canada would challenge the US measures at the World Trade Organisation and through the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
Trump declared Canada had failed to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the US, an argument Trudeau called "completely bogus, completely unjustified, completely false".
Trudeau, who will step down as prime minister after the ruling Liberal Party chooses a new leader on Sunday, warned Canadians that tough times were coming.
Economists say Canada, which sends 75 per cent of all exports to the United States, will plunge into a recession unless the tariffs are lifted quickly.
But they also say it will affect US citizens, given how tightly the two economies are connected.
In late January, the Wall Street Journal said Trump would be launching "the dumbest trade war in history" if he went ahead.
"It's not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal but Donald, they point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do," Trudeau said.
Canada's two most populous provinces, Quebec and Ontario, are taking US alcohol off the shelves of provincially run liquor stores and Canadian sports fans have begun booing US teams.
"We're going to choose to try to buy Canadian products and forgo bourbon and other classic American products. And yeah, we're probably going to keep booing the American anthem," Trudeau said.
"But let me tell Americans, we're not booing you, we're not booing your teams, we're not booing your players. We're booing a policy that is designed to hurt us. And we're insulted and we're angry ... we're going to fight and we're going to win."
with AP
