Mexico president says U.S. tariffs on her country delayed for 1 month
Mexico will reinforce the border with 10,000 soldiers as part of deal
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum says American tariffs on her country have been delayed for a month after a conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, a statement confirmed by the White House.
"Mexico will reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard immediately, to stop drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, in particular fentanyl," Sheinbaum posted on X.
"The United States commits to work to stop the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico."
The Mexican president added that the two countries will maintain dialogue, and "our teams will start working today in two areas: security and commerce."
"We have this month to work and convince each other that this is the best way forward," Sheinbaum said at a press conference.
Trump ordered the 25 per cent tariffs on all Mexican goods over the weekend, with Mexico saying it would respond with tariffs of its own without detailing on what products.
But Trump confirmed on social media that tariffs on goods from Mexico will be paused for a month for negotiations, hours before they were to take effect.
He said the talks would be headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and high-level representatives of Mexico.
"I look forward to participating in those negotiations, with President Sheinbaum, as we attempt to achieve a 'deal' between our two Countries," the president said.
It was not immediately clear how the troops would be deployed. Mexico deployed some 8,700 military and National Guard troops to the border in the first year of Joe Biden's administration.
Tony Payan, director of think-tank Baker Institute's Center for the U.S. and Mexico, told CBC News the "can has been kicked down the road," and there's no guarantee that Trump won't return to the tariff issue "again and again" to gain desired compromises from Mexico.
"It really rewards Trump and his tactics — the kind of bullying tactics — so it has no consequences for him," said Payan.
"Obviously, there's no guarantee that he will respect that deal, much as he didn't respect the USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] itself, which he negotiated," he added.
Indeed, while Trump said he had a "great talk" with Mexico, he clarified tariffs are not totally off the table amid negotiations during the month-long delay.
Payan said, given less-than-desired economic growth in recent quarters and Mexico's general dependence on the U.S. as an economic partner, Sheinbaum "had to compromise." But, he said, the move could be unpopular for some legislators within her Morena party.
Tariffs potentially still on for Canada
The pause added to the drama as Trump's tariffs against Canada and China are still slated to go into effect on Tuesday. Uncertainty remains about the durability of any deals and whether the tariffs are a harbinger of a broader trade war, as Trump has promised more import taxes to come.
Trump posted on social media that he spoke Monday morning with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and would "be speaking to him again at 3:00 P.M."
But a senior Canadian official reportedly told the New York Times that Ottawa is not optimistic they can get the same kind of one-month reprieve from U.S. tariffs that was granted to Mexico.
Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House's National Economic Council, told CNBC that Mexicans are "very, very serious about doing what President Trump said," unlike Canada.
"Canadians appear to have misunderstood the plain language of the executive order and they're interpreting it as a trade war," Hassett added.
Earlier Monday, Trump repeated his complaints that Canada has not been co-operative, despite decades of friendship and partnerships between the two nations.
"Canada doesn't even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there," Trump posted. "What's that all about? Many such things, but it's also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada."
Trump has also repeatedly taunted Trudeau, calling him "Governor Trudeau" and saying Canada can avoid the tariffs by becoming the 51st state.
Canada said it would slap retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, with the federal government releasing a detailed list of the retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion in goods.
European Union also threatened
The 27-nation European Union has also been threatened with tariffs by Trump.
Speaking in Washington on Sunday after returning from his Mar-a-Lago estate, the U.S. president indicated they're next in the firing line, but did not say when.
"They don't take our cars, they don't take our farm products. They take almost nothing and we take everything from them," he told reporters.
EU leaders meeting at an informal summit in Brussels on Monday said Europe would be prepared to fight back if the U.S. imposes tariffs, but also called for reason and negotiation.
With files from Reuters
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