By Kylie Madry
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico is going to find a solution to avoid the application of tariffs from the United States, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Friday, following threats from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to do so.
Trump has promised sweeping tariffs on Mexico if it does not crack down on migrant arrivals at the shared border and the entry of drugs, particularly synthetic fentanyl, into the U.S.
Ebrard, speaking at a conference, compared the current trade tensions with previous negotiations under Trump’s first presidency.
Ebrard previously served as Mexico’s foreign minister and was involved in talks after the U.S., Mexico and Canada refreshed their trilateral trade agreement.
“In 2019 they told us, ‘If you don’t put sweeping immigration policies into place, we’re going to slap tariffs on you,'” Ebrard said, referring to the U.S.’ demand that Mexico accept migrants returned from the U.S. even if they were from other countries.
“We said, ‘We’re never going to accept that,’ (…) and in the end, there were no tariffs or treaties,” Ebrard said.
However, Mexico did end up accepting returned migrants from some countries like Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The Trump transition team is looking to again roll out a similar program once he takes office, sources told Reuters, though Mexico has said it is looking to reach a deal to avoid such measures.
Ebrard alluded to Trump’s tariff threats as being hollow, as they would heavily impact the U.S. economy.
“You can’t have low inflation and sustained economic growth in the U.S. if, at the same time, you’re rolling out strong protectionist policies against Mexico and China,” he said. “That’s a key advantage for Mexico.”
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Franklin Paul)
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