US Tariffs / South Korean President Will Visit Mexico

US Tariffs. President Claudia Sheinbaum is working to secure the most favorable terms possible for Mexico as negotiations with US officials continue over duties on steel, aluminum and automobiles. The president framed the effort as an ongoing, active exchange rather than a stalled process, noting that Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard had already traveled to Washington twice the previous week and was back in the US capital as she spoke.

"There's collaboration, a permanent dialogue. Marcelo Ebrard went to Washington twice last week. He is there again now, and we're working to get the best possible terms for Mexico on all of these fronts, and we're making progress," Sheinbaum said, according to comments reported by Milenio.

The president also argued that Mexico enters these discussions from a position of relative strength compared with other US trading partners, pointing out that the bulk of Mexican goods sold into the United States currently move without the tariffs applied to other countries.

South Korean President Will Visit Mexico. President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will travel to Mexico in the coming months, a trip she said will cover commercial and cultural matters alongside "issues of various kinds." Sheinbaum added that a K-pop group will accompany the South Korean leader, though she said further specifics would be shared later.

"Yes, the president of the Republic of Korea is coming. We have been speaking by phone for several months now, these are commercial and cultural interests, of various kinds. One of the K-pop groups is coming with him. We'll share more details soon. It is a very good relationship," Sheinbaum said.

Mexicans Deported. Mexico's federal government has formally objected to a US practice that has sent close to 3,000 Mexican citizens into Central American countries instead of returning them directly to Mexico, according to Sergio Salomón Céspedes, Head,  National Migration Institute (INM). Céspedes said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly raised the issue with US authorities, framing the third-country transfers as a practice Mexico wants stopped entirely rather than merely reduced.

"The federal government has made its objection clear, seeking to prevent our nationals from continuing to be sent to Central American countries, and to put an end to this practice on the part of the United States," Céspedes said.