Mexico City (Agencies) Mexican President Andres Lopez Obrador sent a letter to his American counterpart Donald Trump saying he does not want “confrontation” and called for dialogue with the US on immigration.
The letter came after Trump announced tariffs on goods coming from Mexico that he said would remain in place until the flow of “illegal migrants” coming to the US is “remedied.”
López Obrador disapproved Trump´s decision to impose tariffs on exports from Mexico in response to an alleged immigration crisis on the border, writing in a letter that Trump’s “America First” policy was a “fallacy.”
“With all due respect, although you have the right to express it, ‘America First’ is a fallacy because until the end of times, even beyond national borders, justice and universal fraternity will prevail,” López Obrador wrote in the two-page letter to Trump.
The Mexican president said his country was doing “as much as possible” to stem the flow of Central American migrants through his country to the United States, “without violating human rights.”
In the letter, he also states that Mexico wants to avoid confrontation with the United States on the issue.
In a tweet yesterday Trump announced he was imposing a 5 percent tariff beginning June 10 on all Mexican imports “until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP.”
The White House released a statement saying the tariff would increase by 5 percent each month until it reaches 25 percent.
After the tweets U.S. equities slumped, as Trump opened a new front in his trade wars, threatening to place escalating tariffs on Mexico and jeopardizing a new North American trade agreement and the Mexican peso tumbled more than 3%, while the dollar jumped along with the yen.
López Obrador announced in his letter that Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will head to Washington on Friday in pursuit of a deal. Ebrard was scheduled to visit Washington in mid-June to meet with congressional and administration leaders.
He also urged Trump to move away from the tariffs, stating that “social issues are not resolved through taxes or coercive means.”
For Trump, reelection is the only way since prison could be in his future. So far it seems Mr. Trump is trying to deflect attention from the multiple investigations he faces. Here are some of those.
- Roger Stone criminal trial
- The hush money investigation
- Trump’s inauguration funding
- Pro-Trump super PAC
- Trump Organization insurance policies
- Trump Organization real estate deals
- The Trump Foundation
- Trump’s taxes
- Trump’s golf club employing undocumented immigrants
- The emoluments lawsuit
- Michael Cohen’s legal fees
- Summer Zervos defamation suit
- House Financial Services
- House Ways and Means Committee
- House Foreign Affairs Committee
We will see if the rhetoric escalates or if Lopez Obrador will also retaliate in tariffs.
The Yucatan Times
Newsroom
