In Response To Tariff Threat, Mexico President Tells Trump: ‘America First Is A fallacy’
The president of Mexico says he wants to avoid a confrontation with the United States, but had harsh words about President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Mexican goods to pressure the nation to stem the flow of Central American migrants.
“America First is a fallacy,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, often referred to as AMLO, said in a public letter released late Thursday.
López Obrador also announced he was sending his foreign minister to Washington, D.C., on Friday, to negotiate with U.S. officials ahead of a June 10 deadline set by Trump.
In a Thursday tweet, Trump said that on June 10 the United States “will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP.”
In the tweet and in a separate written statement, Trump claimed that the tariff will escalate by 5 percentage points each month until “the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied,” at which time it will be removed. Trump said the tariff could reach 25% by Oct. 1.
As for Trump’s statements, AMLO said: “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.”
AMLO said on Friday that Mexico will not respond to US President Donald Trump’s threat of coercive tariffs with desperation but will instead push for dialogue.
Speaking at his regular news conference, Lopez Obrador said the Mexican people “don’t deserve this kind of treatment”.
He said Mexico would respond with “great prudence” to any threats by the United States.
He noted that most migrants passing through Mexico are Central Americans fleeing their countries because they are unable to find work or live safely there.
