President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo maintained that general inflation in Mexico (which reached 4.02 percent in February) is due to the price of tomatoes, which has risen as a result of its high demand in the United States due to the recent frosts in that country, despite the compensatory quota of 17.09 percent imposed on the product by Donald Trump since July 2025.
“Inflation has to do with the price of tomatoes, precisely because since there was a freeze in the United States, (that product) is going there. Now, not even the compensatory fee affected the Mexican tomato. The best tomato in the world,” said the president yesterday morning.
Questioned about the urgent issues in the review to begin of the Mexico, United States and Canada Agreement (T-MEC), she stated that her government will seek to have zero tariffs on the products that have them today: aluminum, steel and cars, decreed by Trump. “That is our position.”
The president pointed out that in essence her government agrees with Washington’s position of ensuring the productive and supply chain, that is, that the components of what is manufactured in Mexico are made with products from North America. He pointed out that just as 78.5 percent of the representatives of the Mexican states that participated in the consultation on the renegotiation of the USMCA agree to renew it, so do nearly 80 percent of businessmen in the United States.
On the other hand, he maintained that work is being done to support corn producers, given the recent warning from producers to even carry out blockades during the 2026 Soccer World Cup in case their demands are not met.
“We are giving support for the price of corn. In addition, we are asking those who buy that corn, the flour mills and also those who buy corn for livestock consumption, to also put more into the purchase. Those two are giving a better price. Our objective is to reach an agreement with those buyers before it is planted, so that they buy the Mexican crop before importing corn. And they agree, only certain conditions have to be guaranteed.”
He considered the drop in the international price of oil positive, after it increased for a few days due to the conflict in the Middle East.
After the conference, the president met with 100 CEOs of Nordic companies led by the Wallenberg Group. “They are interested in investing in Mexico.” Representatives from companies such as ABB, Aker, AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Lego, Maersk, Nokia, Novo Nordisk, Vestas and Volvo attended the National Palace.
The Foreign Ministry reported that the Wallenberg Group is one of the main business conglomerates in Europe. The companies linked to the consortium generate a combined income of more than 385 billion dollars.