trump mexican tariff threat canceled; new threat on horizon

The Trump Administration has announced that it will not, after all, impose increased tariffs against a variety of Mexican imports.

That announcement is in response to a pledge from the Mexican government to become more active in reducing the number of people, primarily from Central America, flooding the Mexican/U.S. border.

In a joint announcement, representatives from both the U.S. and Mexico said that Mexico had agreed to the “deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border.”

Although President Trump said if he had not “put tariffs on the table” the Mexican government would not have so positively responded, a number of analysts have suggested that Mexico was prepared to step up their border security efforts before the tariff threat.

A report in the New York Times said the Mexican government had agreed to enhance its enforcement efforts last March during “secret talks in Miami between Kirstjen Nielsen, then the secretary of homeland security, and Olga Sanchez, the Mexican secretary of the interior.”

Although the Administration signaled its satisfaction with Mexico’s response, Trump has since also suggested that he may re-impose tariffs against Mexico if the border immigration issues continue.

The President had originally called for tariffs of 5 percent on all Mexican imports starting on June 10. Those tariffs would have gradually increased to 25 percent by October.

The tariffs would have particularly hit auto and truck parts, as well as construction supplies.

By Garry Boulard

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