Trump says there is progress in Mexico's tariff negotiations

WASHINGTON (AP) – Mexican and US authorities said on Wednesday that White House negotiations had progressed on Wednesday, but President Donald Trump said it was "not enough" to end taxes to the import that he advocated forcing Mexico to curb the flow of migrants from Central America flooding the southern border of America.

Discussions continued overnight at the State Department and were scheduled to resume Thursday.

Highlighting the magnitude of the problem, the Department of Homeland Security announced separately that the arrests of US migrants crossing the border illegally by the Border Patrol reached their highest level in more than 10 years: 132,887 apprehensions, including a record of 84,542 adults and children traveling together. 11,507 children traveling alone.

The tariff threat has enormous economic implications for both countries and politically highlights a major ideological split between Trump and his party. Trump is relying more and more on tariffs to force other nations to comply with his wishes, thereby dismissing warnings, including those of fellow Republicans, about the likely consequences for US manufacturers and consumers.

Renewing his threat on Wednesday, Trump tweeted from Ireland that negotiations in Washington would continue "with the understanding that, if no agreement is reached, tariffs at 5% will begin Monday, with monthly increases. according to schedule ".

The Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, said that immigration, not tariffs, was the main objective of the meeting at the White House, in which the Secretary of State took part Mike Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and other US officials.

"We are optimistic," he said at a press conference at the Mexican Embbady.

At the same time, congressional Republicans are threatening their own confrontation with Trump, warning the White House that they are ready to stand up to the President in an attempt to block his tariffs, fearing that this will increase costs for consumers, harming the economy and jeopardizing security. outstanding trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Without agreement, the first tariffs – 5% taxes on imports from Mexico, which will rise to 25% – will come into effect next Monday, and Trump said it was "more likely" than not to be despite fierce and brutal opposition from many Republican compatriots. Trump has been shaking up for months on the skyrocketing migrants trying to cross the southern border and has proposed a series of increasingly radical solutions, including the complete sealing of the US-Mexico border and renewal its controversial policy of separation of families.

Most migrants attempting to enter the country come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, countries ravaged by gangs, violence and poverty. A large number of travelers should eventually ask for asylum.

Officials said Mexico could prevent tariffs by securing its southern border with Guatemala, cracking down on criminal smuggling organizations and concluding a "safe third country agreement" that would make it difficult for those who enter Mexico from other countries to apply for asylum. United States.

The United States, however, did not propose benchmarks or concrete measures to determine whether Mexico was adequately curbing the flow of migrants from Central America. And it is unclear whether even these measures would be enough to convince Trump of illegal immigration, a major issue of his presidency and which he considers crucial for his re-election campaign in 2020.

In the run-up to the meeting, requested by Mexico, White House officials had downplayed expectations, saying the US delegation was willing to listen to Mexico's ideas to respond to Trump's demands, but did not agree Was not expecting an agreement on Wednesday.

And we still did not know what kind of deal could be reached with Trump outside the country.

Nevertheless, some Republican lawmakers who had held talks with officials from both countries were hoping more and more to come up with a proposal that would satisfy Trump, or at least delay tariffs and save time.

GOP Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Wednesday that he had called on the Mexican ambbadador to stress that Trump was "serious" about the rates and that it was not clear whether Congress would be able to gather enough votes to block them.

"I just wanted to make sure that the Mexican ambbadador was aware of the situation," Johnson said. "If he enacts these rates, they will not be canceled."

Peter Navarro, trade advisor at the White House, told CNN that he was optimistic and that the United States could commit to avoiding tariffs, which "might not have to come in." force precisely because we have the attention of Mexicans ".

And Republican Chuck Grbadley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said before the White House meeting that Mexicans had "a long list of things to come up with, and that this would prevent tariffs from coming into effect ".

Analysts, however, were not optimistic about the possibility of avoiding the initial phase of customs duties.

"Trump has his new tool and he wants to use it, and he will use it … because that's part of his bargaining tactic," said Duncan Wood, director of the Mexico Institute's think tank. Wilson Center in Washington.

"Mexico will propose doing a lot more in terms of migration, but it will also say that it will retaliate against the tariffs and that many people will lose a lot of money," he said.

Tony Wayne, a former US ambbadador to Mexico, said the two sides could have a good meeting and reach an agreement, but still do not satisfy the "wild card" president.

"The tweets say" stop everyone "and" stop the drugs. "This would be an impossible task in the short term," he said.

The stakes are clear: the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement has made trade with Mexico largely free of tariffs. As a result, manufacturers have put in place complex supply chains that straddle the border. Americans bought $ 378 billion worth of Mexican imports last year, mostly cars and parts. Mexico is the second largest export market of the United States behind Canada.

This back and forth could also jeopardize the recast NAFTA, to which Trump lobbied Mexico and Canada for what they agreed to do last year. The US-Mexico-Canada agreement was signed by the three countries but must be approved by their legislatures.

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Associate Press Editors Paul Wiseman, Lisa Mascaro, Darlene Superville and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report.