ZCZC
BFF-10
MEXICO-US-POLITICS-IMMIGRATION-TRADE
Mexico girds for talks on ‘counterproductive’ Trump tariff threat
WASHINGTON, June 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo
Ebrard warned Monday that President Donald Trump’s planned punitive tariffs
on Mexico would be “counterproductive” for cracking down on migrants, but the
White House reiterated Trump’s threat is serious.
As markets reeled, officials on both sides said they thought a deal could
be reached before potentially-damaging tariffs on Mexican exports to the
United States are put in place on June 10.
Trump, on a state visit to Britain, stepped up pressure in a tweet.
“As a sign of good faith, Mexico should immediately stop the flow of people
and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border,” he wrote.
Earlier, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in Mexico City that it
was important to resolve the issue “through dialogue.”
“We are in favor of free trade, and we think an agreement can be reached,”
he said.
“I want to continue being friends with President Donald Trump.” – Mexico
stunned by Trump threat –
Trump stunned Mexico on Thursday announcing that the United States would
place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10
and rising to as high as 25 percent, unless Mexico City took action to halt
the hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing into the US from Mexico in
recent months.
The announcement pummelled the Mexican currency and sent markets in both
countries tumbling over fears of a sharp slowdown in trade and high prices
for imported goods in both sides of the border.
Economists warned that the Mexican economy could be pushed into recession
if Trump followed through, and there were worries that it could also affect
US growth.
Ebrard and other top officials flew to Washington in panic mode Friday
after Trump’s announcement.
He was expecting to meet this week with Homeland Security Acting Secretary
Kevin McAleenan and also with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Mexico’s agriculture minister and economy minister were planning to meet
with their counterparts in the Trump cabinet. – ‘Economic instability’ –
Ebrard told reporters that Mexico had already prevented 250,000 migrants
from traveling to the US border, and that the only solution to the crisis is
a comprehensive development plan for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras,
where most of them come from.
“Slapping tariffs, along with the decision to cancel aid programs in the
northern Central American countries, could have a counterproductive effect
and would not reduce migration flows,” he said.
Trump in March cut off aid to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala,
insisting they weren’t doing enough to stop the flow of migrants to the
United States. He has also more than once threatened to close the US border
with Mexico.
Ebrard said the tariffs would “cause financial and economic instability,”
making it even harder for Mexico to address the migrant movements.
He argued that Mexico had already taken numerous steps under US pressure to
slow the flow northward.
Those included letting US asylum seekers remain in Mexico while their
applications are reviewed, and also accepting applications for asylum in
Mexico itself from more than 24,000 people.
“Without Mexico’s efforts, an additional quarter-million migrants would
arrive at the US border in 2019,” he said. – US: stop migrant buses –
Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers,
said Mexico had to take more action, including stopping buses that ferry
migrants to the US frontier, which the Trump administration claims are run by
criminal gangs.
“The fact is there are a lot of identifiable steps… that the Mexicans
could be taking but haven’t been, in terms of stopping the organized crime
folks from running buses to get people up to the border and so on,” he told
CNN.
Hassett, who Trump announced late Monday would be leaving his position,
told reporters that Trump is “100 percent not” bluffing, and will follow
through if there’s no action by Mexico.
“This is much more harmful for the Mexican economy than the US economy,” he
said.
“If they can come forward with a good plan, then the tariffs won’t happen.”
– Mexico: aid, not tariffs –
Ebrard criticized the US for cutting former aid programs to Central America
and not following through with a new $5.8 billion public and private aid and
investment plan that the Department of State announced in December.
“We don’t have today a single program in place, so we are going to put this
on the table, too,” Ebrard said.
He rejected the proposal mentioned by top Trump officials that Mexico, as
the first country the migrants enter, agree to accept all of their asylum
claims.
That would “not be acceptable for Mexico,” he said.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0838 hrs