Trump SUSPENDS tariffs on Mexico after reaching a signed agreement ensuring 'strong measures' will be brought in to 'eliminate' illegal immigration through the southern border
- Trump said on Friday that he had reached a deal with Mexico to stem migration
- Announced that new 5% tariff on Mexican goods set for Monday is suspended
- Trump had threatened to increase tariffs on Mexico up to 25% to force a deal
- Demanded Mexico stop the flow of Central Americans through its country
- Insisted that Mexico sign a 'safe third country' agreement on asylum seekers
- Mexico has moved 6,000 troops to its own southern border in crackdown
- Details of the deal have not been released but are expected soon
President Donald Trump has suspended planned tariffs against Mexico, saying that an agreement has been reached on border enforcement to stem the tide of illegal migration into the U.S. from Central America.
Trump announced that a deal had been reached in a tweet on Friday, three days before the first tariffs were set to take effect.
A State Department press released indicated that Mexico had agreed to an 'enforcement surge' of national guard troops at its own southern border, and -crucially - to accept the return of asylum seekers that had crossed through its territory as they await an asylum determination from the U.S.
'I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico,' Trump wrote in his tweet.
Trump greets members of the media as he arrives on the South Lawn of the White House after a trip to Europe, in Washington DC on Friday
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'The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended. Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border,' he continued, shortly after arriving back at the White House from a trip to the UK and Ireland.
'This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States. Details of the agreement will be released shortly be the State Department. Thank you!'
A spokesman for Mexico's foreign ministry confirmed that an agreement had been reached to suspend the tariffs.
As part of the deal, Mexico has agreed to take more migrants seeking asylum in the United States while they await adjudication of their cases.
'The United States will immediately expand the implementation of the existing Migrant Protection Protocols across its entire Southern Border,' the two countries said in a joint declaration following three days of talks.
'This means that those crossing the U.S. Southern Border to seek asylum will be rapidly returned to Mexico where they may await the adjudication of their asylum claims,' it said.
'In response, Mexico will authorize the entrance of all of those individuals for humanitarian reasons, in compliance with its international obligations, while they await the adjudication of their asylum claims,' the declaration said.
Some of 1,036 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas last month
Border apprehensions surged to 140,000 in May, according to Customs and Border Protection
The Migrant Protection Protocols plan, announced in December, is aimed at curbing the increasing number of families arriving mostly from Central America who say they fear returning to their home countries due to threats of violence. The Trump administration says many of the claims are not valid.
Mexico has also agreed to increase enforcement to curb illegal immigration, including deploying its National Guard throughout the country with a focus on its southern border, and cracking down on human smuggling organizations, according to the declaration.
The United States and Mexico will continue discussions on illegal immigration and if the measures in the agreement 'do not have the expected results, they will take further actions' and announce them within 90 days.
The president's son Don Trump Jr reacted to the news of the deal on Twitter, writing: 'I love this. It just makes me wonder why no one has ever even bothered to try before.'
'Other than the obvious which is our previous leaders had no business leading anything,' continued Trump Jr.
Trump had previously vowed to put a 5 per cent tariff on all imports from Mexico starting on June 10, to be increased an additional 5 per cent monthly until reaching 25 per cent, unless Mexico cooperated on immigration enforcement.
Crunch talks between US and Mexican officials continued through the day on Friday at the State Department in Washington, with the Trump administration demanding a tough crackdown on the Central American migrants and an agreement to accept their asylum petitions inside Mexico.
Such an agreement, known as a 'safe third country' agreement, was thought to be a key sticking point of the talks.
Mexico has previously refused to agree to the commitment, under which asylum seekers would be required to apply for benefits in the first safe country they enter, and not the country where they ultimately want to settle.
The deal reached on Friday appears to fall short of a safe third country treaty, of the type which the U.S. has with Canada.
Earlier this week, Mexico ordered 6,000 troops to its own southern border in a crackdown on illegal crossings and attempt to appease Trump.
Mexican authorities stop a migrant caravan that had earlier crossed the Mexico - Guatemala border, near Metapa, Chiapas state, Mexico on Wednesday
Personnel of the National Immigration Institute (INM) detain a caravan migrant Wednesday during an joint operation by the Mexican government to stop Central American migrants
The show of force included the halting of a caravan of more than 1,000 migrants, the type of group that Mexico has long allowed to continue freely through its territory toward the U.S.
If a deal could not be reached, the US intended to hit hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of imports from Mexico with 5 per cent tariffs beginning Monday - a move which could have clobbered Mexico's economy.
The tariffs would have also increased the costs of some imported goods for U.S. consumers.
Mexico had prepared a list of possible retaliatory tariffs targeting products from agricultural and industrial states regarded as Trump's electoral base, a tactic China has also used with an eye toward the Republican president's 2020 re-election bid.
Imposing tariffs on Mexico would have left the United States fighting trade wars with two of its three largest trading partners and would further unnerve financial markets already fearful of a global economic slowdown.
Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is seen on Thursday. The two countries have been in intensive talks on a 'safe third country' deal
On Friday, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard met with US officials at the State Department for a third straight day to discuss US demands for a crackdown on migrants.
Mexican President Obrador said Friday morning he was 'optimistic' for a deal.
The Trump administration had demanded Mexico take tough action to halt the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, who are hoping to request asylum in the United States.
The number of migrants intercepted illegally crossing the border surged to 144,000 in May, the highest level in 13 years.
Many were Central Americans traveling with children, which under current rules means they are often released into the U.S. interior pending an asylum court date.
