(Bloomberg) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she discussed US steel and aluminum tariffs on Thursday, in her latest call with Donald Trump.
Sheinbaum has repeatedly called for the 25% levies on the metals to be cut or eliminated. She said they didn’t talk about the review of the North American free trade agreement scheduled for next year.
During her daily press conference, she touted her “good relationship and communication” with the US leader.
She said she welcomed the decision by US lawmakers to reduce a proposed tax on remittances to 3.5% from 5%, but will continue fighting for these payments to be tax free.
Mexico narrowly avoided a recession at the start of the year, with the economy growing just 0.2% in the first three months from the previous quarter, according to data published Thursday by the national statistics institute. Most economists define a technical recession as two consecutive quarters of contraction.
Speaking alongside Sheinbaum, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard and Finance Minister Edgar Amador said the economy was weathering trade tensions well, despite the growth slowdown and uptick in inflation.
Trump’s on-again, off-again trade threats have caused upheaval in Mexico’s export sector, as firms rushed to ship goods across the border ahead of any duties, providing a temporary boost to first-quarter growth. Despite the tariffs, Ebrard said that foreign direct investment in Mexico rose to $21.4 billion in the first quarter, up 5.4% from a year earlier.
Ebrard said that Mexico will tender new industrial parks in the southern states of Chiapas and Tabasco under Sheinbaum’s “Plan Mexico,” project to stimulate investment in the middle of growing trade uncertainty.
These parks will focus on sectors including agriculture, aerospace, textiles, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and energy, he said.
Ebrard is traveling to Washington on Friday to continue addressing trade issues with US officials.
--With assistance from Danielle Chaves and Carolina Millan.