The plans of US President Donald Trump for punitive tariffs against Mexico also meet with criticisms in his own party. There is „not much support for such punitive tariffs,“ said Senate Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday.
When asked whether the Senate could block the impending tariffs by law, McConnell evasively responded: The talks with the Mexican government would seem to be going well. „Our hope is that the tariffs will be avoided and that we will not have to answer hypothetical questions.“ Republican Senator Ron Johnson, on the other hand, said the White House must count on such a move by the Senate.
With the punitive tariffs Trump wants to force the government of the southern neighboring state to prevent the passage of people from Central America through Mexico in the direction of the United States. The US president had announced the tariffs completely unexpected on Thursday. According to Trump, they will come into force early next week, should the Mexican authorities not intervene to prevent migration.
Trump considers tariffs on imports from Mexico as a lever for better border security of the neighboring country almost inevitable. „I think it’s more likely that the tariffs are coming,“ Trump said Tuesday at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London. He also threatened his own party: If the Republicans want to prevent his plans, that would be „stupid,“ said Trump. He has an approval rate of 94 percent among Republican voters.
„We’ll probably talk to each other while the tariffs apply and get paid,“ he said. „Millions of people are flooding Mexico. That’s unacceptable. „On Wednesday, there will be a meeting in Washington with foreign ministers from both countries, Mike Pompeo and Marcelo Ebrard. It will discuss ways to avert customs duties.
The tariffs should be at five percent and then gradually increase to 25 percent by October. That would hit Mexico hard: 80 percent of the country’s exports go to the United States. But even in the US, there are voices saying that the import surcharges may boomerang: US importers and members of Trump’s Republican Party are worried about significant price increases in the US – especially in cars and food.
Mexico: „Will not enter into trade war“
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has already announced that his country will meet the US government in a migration dispute. „The most important thing will be to inform what we already do on the migration issue,“ said Lopez Obrador this weekend. In addition, he announced a tougher action by Mexico against migrants.
Trump’s tariff threat came as a surprise to Mexico, as both countries recently agreed with Canada on the new USMCA trade agreement. Lopez Obrador reiterated that the USMCA agreement – the successor to the NAFTA agreement terminated by Trump – will be ratified. „We will not enter into a trade war,“ he said. When asked what the Mexican government would do if US tariffs were imposed, he replied, „We have a plan to make sure that the country is not impoverished.“
Lopez Obrador called his compatriots to national unity. In the face of the many migrants crossing Mexico to the north, he spoke of a severe crisis. The US authorities are currently holding more than 80,000 people from Central America. On average, 4,500 people would cross the US border every day.
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