Biden says hurting Canada, Mexico ties is 'last thing we need'

President Joe Biden on Thursday warned against damaging relations with Canada and Mexico, after his incoming successor Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on both US neighbors.

"I think it's a counterproductive thing to do," Biden told reporters when asked about Trump's plan. "The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships. I think we got them in a good place."

The comments come a day after Trump spoke by phone with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum about US-bound migration and drug trafficking, over which he has threatened to slap a 25-percent tariff on the southern neighbor.

Both leaders described the call positively, though Sheinbaum later downplayed Tump's claims that she had agreed to "stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."

Writing on X, Sheinbaum insisted that she had explained Mexico's current "comprehensive strategy" on migration.

"Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are attended to before they reach the border," she said on X.

"We reiterate that Mexico's position is not to close borders but to build bridges between government and peoples," she added.

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Wednesday also warned that some 400,000 of jobs would be lost in the United States if Trump followed through on his tariff plan.

"That is why we say that it would be a shot in the foot," Ebrard said.

Addressing reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he was spending the Thanksgiving holiday with his family, Biden also talked about the importance of maintaining a working relationship with China.

"We've set up a hotline between President Xi and myself, as well as our military, a direct line," Biden said, adding he was "confident" that his Chinese counterpart "doesn't want to make a mistake."