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By Aida Pelaez-Fernandez
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that Mexico does not plan to impose tit-for-tat tariffs on the United States, ahead of President Donald Trump's planned announcement of new tariffs.
Trump has said he will impose sweeping new tariffs on countries around the world on Wednesday. The move is expected to escalate a trade war with global partners including Mexico and Canada, two of the biggest U.S. trade relationships, as well as increase prices and upend a decades-old trade order.
Sheinbaum said at her daily morning press conference that Mexico will on Thursday "announce a comprehensive program, not a tit-for-tat on tariffs."
"Let's see what announcement they make, but we have a plan to strengthen the economy under any circumstance," Sheinbaum added.
Trump's tariff announcement is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT).
Sheinbaum has so far spoken carefully about the possibility of retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., not ruling them out entirely but calling for calm and saying the focus must be on protecting the Mexican economy.
The leader, who enjoys approval ratings over 80%, has won plaudits for her handling of Trump and has steered clear of the war-of-words approach taken by Canadian leaders.
But economists have no doubt that substantial U.S. tariffs could hurt the Mexican economy, broadly predicting a recession if they are kept in place for an extended period.
Thirty years of free-trade agreements between the U.S., Canada and Mexico have closely integrated the three economies and built a manufacturing base in Mexico that is massively reliant on exporting to the United States.
Mexico's government reduced its growth forecast for the year to between 1.5% and 2.3% on Tuesday. But that remains rosier than estimates by the private sector and the country's central bank amid concerns Mexico is on the precipice of a recession.
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Anthony Esposito and Cynthia Osterman)
