Mexico

The Trump administration has not changed its position in ongoing negotiations with Mexican officials over immigration, planning still to hit all Mexican imports with tariffs by Monday unless the dispute is resolved, the White House said on Thursday as talks continued.

The U.S. and Mexico have yet to resolve a dispute over immigration that President Trump has tied to blanket tariffs on Mexican goods, Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said on Wednesday.

In a draft statement of administration action on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement sent to Congress last week, the Trump administration suggested the frequent use of Section 301 as a means of enforcing the deal while leaving several issues, including those flagged by Democrats as major concerns, as open “for discussion.”

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday had what he called a “good discussion” with his Mexican counterpart about new tariffs threatened last week by President Trump, as agriculture groups and key lawmakers warned the costs to an already reeling industry could be steep.

The Mexican foreign affairs minister said he would meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “We will be firm and we will defend the dignity of Mexico.”

Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has come out against President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Mexican goods, citing concern over the ratification of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it was considering a legal challenge to the move.

In response to President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on all goods from Mexico, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called for the two sides to “deepen the dialogue” on immigration issues, beginning with a high-level meeting on Friday.

The president said he was “invoking the authorities granted to me by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act” to impose the duties, which will begin at 5 percent on June 10.