Mexico's Sheinbaum awaits US tariff deadline with 'cool head'

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday she will wait with a cool head for a decision from the United States ahead of a Saturday deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.

"We will always defend the dignity of our people, respect for our sovereignty and a dialogue as equals without subordination," she said. "We will wait, as I have always said, with a cool head, when taking decisions. We are prepared and we maintain this dialogue."

Mexico and the United States are other's top trading partners. North American economies have grown increasingly intertwined since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the early 1990s and its successor, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump negotiated during his last term.

However, Trump said he would impose punitive tariffs by Saturday over demands Canada and Mexico take stronger action to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and the deadly opioid fentanyl and precursor chemicals into the United States.

Mexico's government has opposed the proposal, saying it will negatively impact both Mexico and the United States, making many goods more expensive for U.S. families, including meat, fruits and vegetables, cars, household appliances and medical equipment.

The United States has also considering an additional 10% tariff on imports from China, its third-biggest trading partner after Canada.

"Coordination is everything," Sheinbaum said, saying her government was also working closely with the private sector to help manage the response to U.S. policies, including Mexico's acceptance of both Mexican and foreign migrants sent from the United States.

(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and Raul Cortes; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry and Mark Porter)