Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Tariffs on Mexico Will Not Derail Trade Deal, Says Trump Official

The president’s threat of a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods will not worsen the country's economic situation, according to White House administration.
Source: Shutterstock
By
  • Reuters

WASHINGTON, United States – Top administration officials said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Mexican imports would not interfere with the finalisation of a North American trade pact and were designed to force Mexico's hand in immigration talks.

Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff, said on “Fox News Sunday” that the tariffs were “not interrelated” with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal, known as the USMCA, awaiting approval by the US Congress.

He expected a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods to take effect on June 10 because “the president is deadly serious about fixing the situation at the southern border.”

Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan said the tariffs would not worsen Mexico’s economic situation and drive more migrants over the border but instead incentivise Mexico to curtail the flow of Central American immigrants that cross through on the way to the United States.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We need Mexico to step up and do more. And these crossings into Mexico are happening at a 150-mile stretch of their Southern border,” McAleenan said on CNN’s “State of the Union”. “This is a controllable area. We need them to put their authorities down there and interdict these folks before they make this route all the way to the US.”

McAleenan said that he wanted Mexico to bolster its own immigration screenings along the country’s southern border, to crack down on the networks that are transporting the migrants throughout Mexico and to enable more migrants to wait in Mexico while they apply for asylum in the United States.

Mexico’s Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Sunday she would meet with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday, two days before the neighbouring countries are due to discuss the prospect of tariffs on Mexican goods.

The meetings follow Trump’s move last week to overrule the advice of his top two trade advisers and abruptly impose tariffs on Mexico.

Trump, who is eager to use immigration as an issue for his 2020 re-election campaign, as he did during his 2016 White House bid, has grown increasingly agitated about the situation along the US-Mexico border.

In April, US border officers apprehended nearly 99,000 people crossing the US southern border, the highest monthly figure since 2007.

Trump called Mexico an “abuser” on Twitter on Sunday and said if they do not “stop the invasion” along the US-Mexico border they will face tariffs.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were both “blindsided” when Trump made the tariff decision, with Lighthizer worried it could complicate approval of the USMCA agreement by Congress, sources told Reuters.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Trump administration has made passing the trade agreement a priority. After Trump’s announcement on Thursday, a top US Chamber of Commerce official said it was “definitely a roadblock to securing passage of USMCA.”

The US Trade Representative’s office said last week that it will not be administering the Mexico tariffs, as it has done for duties levied on some $250 billion of Chinese goods in Trump’s trade war with Beijing. A spokesman referred questions about the Mexico tariffs to the Department of Homeland Security, which will be the lead agency in the effort.

Trump felt that tariffs have forced Mexico to respond to US trade concerns in the past and his decision to embrace the tactic was supported by Stephen Miller, his hawkish immigration adviser, administration officials told Reuters.

Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has predicted that Trump would ease up on his demands and Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said last week he had begun negotiating with officials in Washington.

By Amanda Becker; Editor: Valerie Volcovici.

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Global Markets
A guide to unlocking opportunity in emerging and frontier fashion markets.
view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections