U.S.-Mexico trade talks commence

A senior Mexican delegation, led by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, will begin trade talks on Monday in Washington by meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. On Wednesday, Ebrard will talk with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The talks come on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday of a new 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods, expected to begin June 10. The tariffs will escalate over the coming months to 25 percent if Mexico does not drastically decrease the flow of illegal immigration across its borders.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted that Mexico “is an ‘abuser’ of the United States, taking but never giving,” adding, “Either they stop the invasion of our Country by Drug Dealers, Cartels, Human Traffickers. … Coyotes and Illegal Immigrants, which they can do very easily, or our many companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border, will be brought back into the United States through taxation (Tariffs). America has had enough!”

Mexico will step up security measures to halt an uptick in migration in an effort to reach a deal with the United States, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Saturday: “The main thing is to inform about what we’re already doing on the migration issue, and if it’s necessary to reinforce these measures without violating human rights.” He added that the country does not plan to retaliate with tariffs on U.S. goods: “We’re not going to get into a trade war.”