Mexico City, Mexico — New demands are being placed on Mexico by US president Donald Trump after the two countries worked out a deal to sway migrants from reaching the American border.
The new demands come days after the two countries met and agreed on a strategy to prevent South American migrants from crossing through Mexico to try and reach the US. Trump now says he will impose tariffs if the Mexican Congress does not accept the immigration and security agreement it signed.
On social media, he also added that although they do not anticipate a problem in the voting, tariffs will be restored if the vote is no approved.
Only recently did the US president threaten to add tariffs to Mexican products unless Mexico stopped the illegal immigration, however, that threat was canceled Friday after the two reached an agreement of which no details were given.
Now, Trump says he will impose a 25 percent tariff on cars entering the United States if the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador does not help stop the migration to his country. Trump told reporters at the White House that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on cars or close the border, but that could start with customs taxes.
The president added that he would give Mexico one year to try to stop the flow of drugs before establishing tariffs.
“Mexico has been detaining people on its border. We love Mexico. We love the country, (but) we have two problems: people who enter the US and drugs, large quantities of drugs in many places where we do not have the wall,” said Trump.
“Mexico is unfortunately a great source of drugs, and China is delivering fentanyl to Mexico to reach the United States,” he added.
Trump warned days ago that he would close the border with Mexico this week unless his southern neighbor took steps to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
Graciela Márquez Colín, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy says it is important to separate the issue of immigration from commercial, although the United States government sometimes mixes the issues.
“It is very important to keep the negotiation, the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement in one lane, and in another, the issues that have to do with migration,” the official said in a press conference.
Yesterday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said they will begin meetings with members of the Legal Cabinet to reinforce the policy of development, welfare and attention to migrants.
He reaffirmed that it is possible to temper the migration issue without the use of force, respecting human rights and with programs to support production and employment so that people are not forced to migrate.
“We will show that it can be done”.
He maintained that Mexico will continue to be a fair, free and sovereign country with opportunities for the creation of jobs and investment.
“We are happy and satisfied with the agreement we reached with the United States because we avoided an economic crisis, effects on investments and jobs. The policy is results (…) We are optimistic and confident that there will be no economic reprisals to our country,” he said.
Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, the Secretary of Relaciones Exteriores, said that elements of the National Guard will be deployed in the southern border to work in coordination with the National Institute of Migration.
“It is said that the migrants will be criminalized. Mexico would never do that, let alone this government. Just because someone wants to move that does not make it criminal.”
