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Mexico has warned US President Donald Trump that tariffs on Mexican products could worsen illegal immigration to the United States and end up harming both countries.
The warning came when Mr. Trump tweeted that Mexico could "stop the flow of people and drugs" across the border "if they wish."
Mexican and US officials are in talks while Trump is in the UK.
The president has announced plans to impose a 5% duty on all Mexican products starting next week.
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The tariff would then increase by 5% every month until reaching 25% in October if Mexico did not act to stop migrants crossing the southern border.
This comes as the United States is waging a trade war on several fronts, including with China. Trump has used tariffs unusually in diplomatic disputes since taking office.
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What is Mexico's position on this?
Speaking in Washington DC on Monday, Mexican officials insisted that they were acting to stem the flow of people, many of whom are trying to reach the United States to be able to apply for the "free ride". asylum.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters that he remained committed to fighting the problem and warned that if they "did" nothing, a quarter of a million migrants would arrive United States this year, according to the Reuters news agency.
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He also rejected a proposal that Mexico could become "unacceptable" a "safe third country". Some US officials wish that asylum-seekers from Central America seek asylum in the United States in Mexico, according to Reuters.
At the same time, the country's agriculture minister estimated at about $ 117 million a month the cost of tariffs on the only agricultural sector in both countries, Reuters said.
Why is the United States doing this?
US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, who met with Mexico's secretary of economy, Graciela Marquez, told him that he had told her that Mexico needed to step up its efforts to fight the US economy. ;illegal immigration.
Mexico was the second largest supplier of goods in the United States last year, with imports totaling $ 352 billion ($ 275 billion), according to Goldman Sachs.
Relationships were tense, however. President Trump said Mexico was not doing enough to prevent people from reaching the southern border.
As a result, Trump declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border in February.
He said it was necessary to tackle what he termed a crisis with thousands of undocumented migrants crossing the southern border of the United States.
Trump's tariff threat came as US officials also called for the adoption of the US-Mexico-Canada agreement, an update to the North Free Trade Agreement. American lawmakers have warned that the latest measures could hinder its progress.
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