Daily Management Review

Mexico Could Strengthen Current Immigration Practices To Placate Trump


06/02/2019




Mexico Could Strengthen Current Immigration Practices To Placate Trump
Indications that migration control mechanisms could be tightened by Mexico in order to prevent the risks of imposition of tariffs on all goods exported into the United States by President Donald Trump, was found in the words of Mexico’s president on Saturday. He further also expressed his optimism of achieving “good outcomes” from the negotiations that are going to be held next Wednesday in Washington between representatives of the two countries on the issue.
 
Last Thursday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs from June 10 on all goods from Mexico into the US if no satisfactory action was taken by Mexico to curb the flow of illegal immigrants into the US from Mexico. Most of the illegal immigrants primarily are from Central American nations who use the U.S.-Mexican border to migrate in to the US.
 
The threat of tariffs from Trump hit the Mexican and global markets hard. But his plans were criticized by leaders of US companies and lawmakers who were concerned about opening up another trade war front – this time with one of the largest trading partners of the US.
 
Mexico could initiate some strong measures to reduce illegal immigrants getting into the US so that it can avert tariffs from the Trump administration, said the country’s newly elected president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during an information convention that was held at the port of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
The issue would be discussed at length in Washington between the US and a team from Mexico that would be leaded by Mexico’s Overseas Minister Marcelo Ebrard. “Good outcomes” from those talks is being anticipated by him, said Lopez Obrador at the convention.
 
“The primary factor is to tell about what we’re already doing on the migration subject, and if it is necessary to strengthen these measures without violating human rights, we might be ready to achieve that deal,” Lopez Obrador said .
 
Earlier on Friday, Jesus Seade, deputy foreign minister for North America told the media that the current practices implemented by Mexico would be further strengthened to curb the flow of migrants from Central American countries illegally entering the US.
 
For the government of Mexican president Lopez Obrador, this threat of tariffs from Trump is the first major foreign policy challenge and a potentially difficult one for the government that is already plagued with issues of curbing migration and record incidents of gang war.
 
Exporting to the US is critical for the Mexican economy which reported shrinkage in the first quarter. Trump has planned to gradually impose import tariffs on all Mexican goods into the US as high as 25 per cent by this year itself.
 
While saying that no policy of a trade war with the US would be pursued by the Mexican government, Lopez Obrador said that there was a “plan” in place for his government to implement in the eventuality of US tariffs being imposed ultimately so that Mexican economy was not significantly impacted. No details about the “plan” were provided by him.
 
“We’re doing all we can to reach a deal through dialogue,” the veteran leftist said. “We’re not going to get into a trade war, a war of tariffs and of taxes.”
 
(Source:www.automobinews.eu)