The meeting between President Donald Trump and Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, where they were tentatively scheduled to discuss security, immigration, and trade, will now take place after the World Cup Draw.

For the first woman to govern Mexico, it is of utmost importance to convince the 79-year-old Republican that the Aztec nation is collaborating with the adjustments required to avoid not only the imposition of tariffs, but also what might happen to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), since Trump recently expressed his desire to let it expire next year in order to draft a new one. "It expires in about a year, and we'll let it expire or maybe we'll reach another agreement with Mexico and Canada," the conservative politician stated a couple of days ago at a conference. The USMCA was signed in 2018, during Donald Trump's first term, and entered into force in 2020, with a planned validity until 2036, although it stipulates a review scheduled for 2026, in which the three partners must determine whether to extend it to 2042. In the hypothetical scenario that the USMCA is canceled, the enormous dependence that Mexican exports have on the United States would jeopardize the growth of the Mexican economy. From Trump's perspective, it is It is necessary to rethink the trade relationship with its trading partners in North America, as he insists that the United States is not benefiting as it should. “Mexico and Canada have taken advantage of the situation. I don't blame them because we had stupid people in charge, a lot of stupid people in charge,” he stated at the same conference. For Claudia Sheinbaum's government, it would be disastrous if the large automakers and foreign manufacturing companies operating from Mexico decided to relocate due to the high tariffs their products would face upon entering the U.S. market. Therefore, it is crucial that the mayor at least make a good impression on Trump during their first face-to-face meeting.The real trade negotiations will then be handled by the secretaries of commerce and economy of both countries. For the moment, both Trump and Sheinbaum could be seen smiling broadly as they drew the balls that determined the groups for the next World Cup, which, incidentally, will be hosted by the United States and its even larger trading partners in the Americas.