Mexican officials confident on reaching US tariff deal before new deadline

TLAXCALA, Mexico - Top Mexican officials said on Feb 4 they were confident that Mexico could reach an agreement with the US before threatened tariffs are due to take effect, with the US demanding progress on fighting the flow of drugs and migrants to the shared border.

US President Donald Trump had threatened both Mexico and Canada with 25 per cent tariffs, but pushed their roll-out back by a month on Feb 3 in exchange for promises from the two countries to tackle drugs and immigration.

“This month is more than enough to reach an agreement on these issues,” Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard told journalists, adding that Mexico and the US were now on a more even playing field as they come to the negotiating table.

“Over the next few days, over the next few weeks, we can give strong evidence that Mexico is willing to keep collaborating,” Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said. “We have the same problems in common, and both countries will do much better if we face them together.”

Hundreds of Mexican soldiers were mobilised on Feb 4 to the border with the United States as part of an agreement that halted US tariffs on Mexican imports, under the condition the Latin American country cracks down on fentanyl trafficking.

The Mexican troops will be posted to hot spots along the border with high rates of illegal migration and drug and weapons trafficking, including the border states of Baja California, Sonora and Tamaulipas, said three military and government officials with knowledge of the plan.

The plan to eventually deploy 10,000 Mexican soldiers forms part of a deal announced on Feb 3 under which US President Donald Trump

paused his threat of 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican imports.

Mexico had vowed to impose retaliatory tariffs.

Under the agreement, the United States has also promised to work to stop the flow of high-powered weapons into Mexico from the US, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

Some analysts said the hefty concentration of Mexican troops sent to the border could leave other vulnerable areas of Mexico without adequate security.

“The president had a gun to her head to make such a decision,” said Dr Andres Sumano, a researcher at Mexico’s Northern Border College.

A trade war between Mexico and the US would likely have thrown Mexico into a recession, while US consumers would have been hit with higher prices on Mexican imports, including cars and trucks.

Mexican President Sheinbaum’s approach to dealing with Mr Trump’s threats – which she described as keeping a “cool head” – was lauded by analysts and politicians alike.

In contrast, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went on the offensive, listing retaliatory tariffs. It took Mr Trudeau two phone calls with Mr Trump to convince the US leader to hold off on tariffs, while Ms Sheinbaum managed it in one. REUTERS