Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday he remained optimistic that a deal with the Trump administration could be reached to avoid new tariffs on Mexican goods, which are set to go into effect Monday. U.S. and Mexican officials are meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., for their second day of talks. Earlier hopes for a Wednesday deal proved premature, but the Mexican president said the talks remained productive.
“The U.S. authorities have behaved very well, President Trump, because they haven’t closed themselves off to dialogue and we hope that a deal is reached today,” López Obrador told reporters in Mexico City. “I think the meeting tomorrow will be important and that there will be a deal before June 10, before this tariff comes into effect.”
Trump said Thursday he believed the Mexicans wanted a deal but that they had to make more concessions before the U.S. would agree to anything. “They have to step up, and they have to step up to the plate, and perhaps they will. We’re going to see if we can solve the problem,” he told reporters while in France for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
The president said last week he would place a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods, increasing 5% every month until the “illegal immigration problem is remedied.” Business groups and GOP lawmakers have called on the president to back away from the threats, saying the tariffs would likely harm the U.S. economy without resolving the border issue. Mexico has warned of possible trade retaliation of its own.
Talks between the U.S. and Mexican officials were hastily arranged and Trump has said the quick response was indicative that a deal could be reached quickly. He tweeted, “Immigration discussions at the White House with representatives of Mexico have ended for the day. Progress is being made, but not nearly enough!”
Immigration discussions at the White House with representatives of Mexico have ended for the day. 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. Further…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2019
