US President Donald Trump has vowed to renew his tariff threat on Mexico if the country does not co-operate on border issues.
By Jill Colvin, Associated Press
June 9 2019 5:33 PM
US President Donald Trump has vowed to renew his tariff threat on Mexico if the country does not co-operate on border issues.
In a series of tweets sent before departing for his golf club in Virginia, Mr Trump defended a deal reached to head off the 5% tax on all Mexican goods that he had threatened to impose.
But he warned Mexico that, “if for some unknown reason” co-operation fails, “we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position of Tariffs”.
….. Mexico was not being cooperative on the Border in things we had, or didn’t have, and now I have full confidence, especially after speaking to their President yesterday, that they will be very cooperative and want to get the job properly done. Importantly, some things…..
…..not mentioned in yesterday press release, one in particular, were agreed upon. That will be announced at the appropriate time. There is now going to be great cooperation between Mexico & the USA, something that didn’t exist for decades. However, if for some unknown reason…
…..there is not, we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position of Tariffs – But I don’t believe that will be necessary. The Failing @nytimes, & ratings challenged @CNN, will do anything possible to see our Country fail! They are truly The Enemy of the People!
Though he said he did not believe that would be necessary.
The tweets came amid questions about just how much of the deal was really new. It included a commitment from Mexico, for instance, to deploy its new National Guard to the country’s southern border with Guatemala. Mexico, however, had already intended to do that before Mr Trump’s latest threat and had made that clear to US officials.
The US also hailed Mexico’s agreement to embrace the expansion of a programme implemented earlier this year under which some asylum seekers are returned to Mexico as they wait out their cases.
