Over the course of just a few months, the U.S. and Mexico governments underwent important changes. Claudia Sheinbaum took office on October 1, just three months and 20 days before Donald Trump did. Trump, 78, is serving his second term as president, while the 62-year-old Mexican president is the first woman to hold the office. The two leaders come from opposite backgrounds, Trump’s expertise being in real estate while Sheinbaum’s is in academia and opposition politics.

The current turmoil the world is experiencing due to complexities in the economic, military, commercial and political spheres poses the question of whether relations between the neighbors will have to change. The public has received news of telephone conversations between the presidents that are said to have been marked by courtesy and cordiality. Though it appears diplomacy has been maintained, the issues at hand require special sensitivity. Among the most pressing issues for Mexico are the imposition of tariffs on Mexican products. Notably, the imposition of a 20.91% tariff on Mexican tomato exports starting July 14 would cause serious difficulties in produce-heavy states such as Sonora and Sinaloa. Mexico is attempting to renew a recently canceled agreement to avoid the imposition of the tariff and asserts that it does not engage in dumping (selling below the cost of production). Sheinbaum has pointed out that U.S. products like pork and chicken could find themselves in the same position as Mexican tomatoes.

For the United States, Mexico’s collaboration on issues like immigration and drug trafficking is vital. Thus, it is expected that communication between the two countries will remain open and productive in an effort to continue finding solutions to problems that may arise, as has been true historically.