President-elect Donald Trump recently vowed to place tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Mexico and Canada if the countries do not do more to stop illegal immigrants and drugs from making their way into the U.S. Now, it appears that this threat may be working as Trump said he spoke to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on the phone, who agreed that she would put an end to the border influx.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had a “wonderful conversation” with the Mexican leader.
"She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border,” he claimed.
“We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs. It was a very productive conversation!"
It all sounds very positive, and in a post he made a short time later, he even went so far as to say that she was going to stop migration right away.
"Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!" he wrote.
Is it possible that Trump managed to solve this very pressing problem two months before he even takes office with nothing more than an announcement and a phone call?
The tariff threat is indeed a powerful one and something that would cause significant damage to Mexico’s economy, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it did sway Sheinbaum in some way. In fact, not long after Trump announced his intention to implement the tariffs, she said that Mexico would retaliate if he does follow through and implement tariffs of their own on American goods.
However, some are questioning whether Trump is accurately portraying the conversation, especially in light of Sheinbaum’s threat to retaliate. Moreover, her own comments about the conversation do not seem to align with Trump’s claim.
A translation of a post she made on X reads: “In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but instead build bridges between government and people.”
Her comments make it clear that she does not intend to actually close any borders, which casts Trump's claims into doubt.
She did confirm, however, that she told Trump that Mexico was dealing with the migrant caravans approaching the U.S. border.
“We discussed Mexico’s strategy on the migration phenomenon and I shared that caravans are not arriving at the northern border because they are being taken care of in Mexico.
“We also discussed strengthening collaboration on security issues within the framework of our sovereignty and the campaign we are carrying out in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl,” she stated.
Mexican economy minister warns about the damage tariffs could cause
On Wednesday, Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that Trump's proposed tariff would result in the loss of 400,000 jobs in the U.S. and damage American companies and consumers. He added that it would have the effect of doubling the taxes that American firms who produce goods in Mexico pay. In particular, it would hit the automotive sector hard and drive up the prices of cars for consumers given the important role the country plays in automotive manufacturing, accounting for roughly one quarter of all North American vehicle production.
Sheinbaum, who just took office last month, is considered a strong leftist and was not expected to be someone who would agree with Trump on major issues like migration.
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