We do not need Mexico: Says Donald Trump

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The president criticized that Mexico allows the entry of Central American migrants, and causes the death of tens of thousands of Americans because of drugs.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, does not care, not even before the possibility of losing his main trading partner.


Asked if he is concerned about the consequences that his tariff threat may have on the USMCA, the President responded that the United States does not need Mexico.


I’m not worried because they need us, we do not need them, they need us. They stole 32 percent of our automotive business, “Trump said in an interview with Fox News.


” NAFTA is one of the most stupid agreements in our times.”


The president criticized that Mexico allows the entry of Central American migrants, and accused that tens of thousands of Americans die every year because of the drugs that are trafficked on the border.


“(They) send drugs each year with a value of 500 billion dollars, One hundred thousand people die every year because of what enters our country from the southern border, from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador,” he said.

” (Mexico) should not allow people and drugs to enter their country . 


Trump’s statements are made while the United States and Mexico delegations of both countries negotiate an agreement.

Meetings between US and Mexican officials continue for the third consecutive day this Friday in Washington. 


Vice President Mike Pence said he was motivated by the progress in the meetings, but, he warned, there is still more to do if you want to avoid imposing tariffs.

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Mexico warns ratification of the USMCA may be delayed

Mexico will not be able to renew a new trade agreement with its North American neighbors, if the United States (US ) does not abandon the tariffs that may be imposed, said Jesus Seade, Undersecretary for North America of the Secretariat of Foreign Relations of Mexico and veteran trade negotiator. 

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If tariffs are not eliminated, the ratification of an agreement that replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would be delayed, said Seade, who met in Washington with the US trade czar, while trying to resolve a deadlock that threatens to freeze the agreement between the US, Mexico, and Canada for months or even years. 

The USMCA, an agreement signed by the leaders of the countries involved, would govern trilateral trade worth 1.2 billion dollars annually. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Finance Committee in the US Senate, wrote recently in an article in the Wall Street Journal : “If these tariffs are not lifted, the USMCA is dead.”

Democrats in the US Congress called for improving labor rights in Mexico as a precondition to discussing the USMCA, which has yet to be ratified in any of the three countries. Seade insisted that the extensive labor reform law that was voted in the Mexican Senate last week, meant that the country fully complied with its part of the deal, which leaves the issue of tariffs as the biggest obstacle pending so far.

Mexico wants USMCA to be ratified before the US Congress goes into recess in August, and Seade said it would be a mistake if it were delayed until after the presidential elections in that country in November 2020. Nancy Pelosi, The leading Democrat in Congress has been weighing the political cost of giving Trump a legislative victory for the ratification of the USMCA, before his candidacy for presidential re-election in 2020. 

While Trump criticized NAFTA and called it the “worst deal in history,” US officials see the agreement as a model for future trade agreements, which will lead to an increase in American wages, better workers’ rights and better protection of intellectual property.

Nearly 5 Million US Jobs Depend on Mexico

Mexico’s Top 10 Imports

Mexico's Top 10 Imports

Mexico imported US$464.3 billion worth of goods from around the globe in 2018. That dollar amount reflects a 16.1% increase since 2014 and a 10.4% uptick from 2017 to 2018.

From a continental perspective, almost half (48.9%) of Mexico’s total imports by value in 2018 were purchased from the United States and Canada–fellow signatories to the replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trade partners in Asia accounted for 34.9% of Mexican import purchases while 12.4% worth originated from Europe. Smaller percentages came from Latin America (3.2%) plus the Caribbean, Africa (0.5%) then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.

Given Mexico’s population of 126 million people, its total $464.3 billion in 2018 imports translates to roughly $3,700 in yearly product demand from every person in the southernmost North American country. http://www.worldstopexports.com/mexicos-top-10-imports/

Source: Reforma, Financial Times, WSJ, Milenio

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