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Trump says 'not nearly enough' progress in Mexico-US talks, tariffs due next week if no deal Trump says 'not nearly enough' progress in Mexico-US talks, tariffs due next week if no deal
(about 1 hour later)
US President Donald Trump has said he would go ahead with imposing a five percent tariff on Mexican imports if no deal is inked, after the first day of talks to curb the flow of migrants brought little progress. US President Donald Trump is not satisfied by the pace of Mexico's compliance with his ultimatum to stop the migrant flow north. He has reminded Mexico he is serious about imposing a blanket tariff on all its goods within days.
With no breakthrough reached at the high-level meeting between Mexican and US officials at the White House on Wednesday, Trump – who is visiting Ireland at the moment – tweeted out his frustration with the lack of tangible results, repeating his threat to slap Mexico with five percent tariffs on all goods.With no breakthrough reached at the high-level meeting between Mexican and US officials at the White House on Wednesday, Trump – who is visiting Ireland at the moment – tweeted out his frustration with the lack of tangible results, repeating his threat to slap Mexico with five percent tariffs on all goods.
He blamed Mexico and House Democrats for spiking numbers of arrests of migrants attempting to sneak into the US. A record 132,887 were arrested last month after they crossed the border illegally. He blamed Mexico and House Democrats for spiking numbers of arrests of migrants attempting to sneak into the US.
"Progress is being made, but not nearly enough! Border arrests for May are at 133,000 because of Mexico & the Democrats in Congress refusing to budge on immigration reform," Trump tweeted.
The US president reminded Mexico of the deadline to he had set to comply with his demands, saying the sweeping tariffs will come into effect on Monday if the negotiations fail.The US president reminded Mexico of the deadline to he had set to comply with his demands, saying the sweeping tariffs will come into effect on Monday if the negotiations fail.
"If no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule," he tweeted, arguing that the measure would only benefit the US by luring back businesses. "The higher the Tariffs go, the higher the number of companies that will move back to the USA!" "If no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule," he tweeted, adding his usual claim that import tariffs help domestic businesses.
While Trump’s Twitter tirade revolved around the looming tariffs, Mexico’s chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, said that the delegations have not touched on the issue yet. Mexico's initial resistance to Trump's ultimatums seems to have quickly deflated. After a brief exchange of verbal blows with the US and a promise to respond “vigorously” to Trump’s “disastrous” tariff threat, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador chose to instead focus on appeasing his bullyish neighbor. Ahead of the talks, he said that both countries would gain from a migration deal, adding that he would like to be friends with Trump, who just several days earlier called Mexico “an abuser” of the US.
"The dialogue was focused on migration flows and what Mexico is doing or is proposing to the United States, our concern about the Central American situation," Ebrard told a press conference. Trump's tariff ultimatum appears to be a switch to plan B as he struggles to fulfill his election promises to stem the migrant flow, his plans for a grand border wall constantly upset by Democratic resistance. Trump has repeatedly said that Mexico would be the one paying for the wall and later argued that it is paying for it indirectly thanks to a renegotiated trade deal, a claim that has been widely contested by his critics.
As the northward flow of Central American migrants does not seem to ebb, Trump has been ratcheting up his pressure on Mexico to tighten the screws on caravans travelling through the Mexican territory and into the US mostly unimpeded. Mexico is diligently working to satsify Trump, according to its Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.
"The dialogue was focused on migration flows and what Mexico is doing or is proposing to the United States, our concern about the Central American situation," he told a press conference.
Ahead of the talks, the White House laid out three conditions for Mexico to comply if it wants to lift the tariffs, which will rise by five percent each month until they reach 25 percent in October.Ahead of the talks, the White House laid out three conditions for Mexico to comply if it wants to lift the tariffs, which will rise by five percent each month until they reach 25 percent in October.
The first condition is for Mexico to process asylum requests by itself, rather than allowing hundreds of thousands of disheveled people to proceed to the border. Trump’s economic adviser, Peter Navarro, said Wednesday that Mexico needs to enforce its own laws in respect to the migrants, noting that they “are much stronger than ours.” The second condition is for Mexican security forces and police to step up their border protection efforts at Mexico’s own border with Guatemala, the main point of entry for Central American migrants. Thirdly, Washington demands Mexico reinforces patrolling of the roads inside the country by eradicating corruption by security officials, that let migrants continue their perilous journey towards the US in exchange for bribes.The first condition is for Mexico to process asylum requests by itself, rather than allowing hundreds of thousands of disheveled people to proceed to the border. Trump’s economic adviser, Peter Navarro, said Wednesday that Mexico needs to enforce its own laws in respect to the migrants, noting that they “are much stronger than ours.” The second condition is for Mexican security forces and police to step up their border protection efforts at Mexico’s own border with Guatemala, the main point of entry for Central American migrants. Thirdly, Washington demands Mexico reinforces patrolling of the roads inside the country by eradicating corruption by security officials, that let migrants continue their perilous journey towards the US in exchange for bribes.
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