Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday that his administration would be sending a delegation to the United States after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico if they did not stop the influx of illegal immigration.
Obrador said he was planning on sending a delegation Friday headed by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard to Washington to work out the problem.
The Mexican president said he did not want to retaliate with further tariffs against the United States, saying more taxes were not a solution to the illegal immigration problem.
“President Trump, social problems are not resolved with taxes or coercive measures,” Obrador said.
Trump announced Thursday that his administration would be placing tariffs on all Mexican goods until they stopped the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.
“Mexico’s passive cooperation in allowing this mass incursion constitutes an emergency and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States. Mexico has very strong immigration laws and could easily halt the illegal flow of migrants, including by returning them to their home countries. Additionally, Mexico could quickly and easily stop illegal aliens from coming through its southern border with Guatemala,” Trump said in a statement Thursday.
“As President of the United States, my highest duty is the defense of the country and its citizens. A nation without borders is not a nation at all. I will not stand by and allow our sovereignty to be eroded, our laws to be trampled, or our borders to be disrespected anymore,” Trump said.
The president said he would be placing a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act with the tariff increasing 5% every month until the “illegal immigration problem is remedied.”
[Opinion: Trump’s latest Mexico tariff gambit is reckless and mindbogglingly stupid]
….at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2019
Mexico’s North American deputy foreign minister said the country was disappointed with the tariff announcement.
“We’re in a good moment building a good relationship (with the United States) and this comes like a cold shower,” Jesus Seade said.
