Mexico City: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that she wrote another letter to U.S. President Donald Trump to voice opposition to his new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. “Yesterday I sent a letter to President Trump, including a graphic that shows the U.S. surplus with Mexico in the steel and aluminum industry,” Sheinbaum told reporters at her regular morning press conference.

According to Namibia Press Agency, President Trump’s tariff proposal stems from his claim that the United States is running a trade deficit, which means a country imports more than it exports. However, Sheinbaum pointed out that in the case of aluminum and steel with Mexico, the situation is reversed, with the United States exporting more than it imports.

Sheinbaum also announced there will soon be a meeting between U.S. Commerce Secretary-designate Howard Lutnick and Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard to address this issue. This follows Trump’s recent signing of executive orders imposing 25-percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum products entering the United States, a move expected to significantly impact Mexico’s steel sector.

Earlier this week, Sheinbaum expressed her stance in a previous letter to Trump, labeling the new tariffs as an “unnecessary” measure. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing between Mexico and the United States to discuss the suspension of 25-percent tariffs on all Mexican goods exported to the United States.