Mexico City (AFP) – Senior Mexican officials, including the foreign, economy, and security ministers, are heading to Washington seeking an agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration to avoid sweeping tariffs, the government announced Wednesday. This week’s high-level visit underlines the importance to the Latin American nation of striking a deal that addresses Trump’s demands for action over illegal migration and drug trafficking.
The delegation includes Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente, Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch, and Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla, President Claudia Sheinbaum said at her morning news conference. They are expected to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, seeking to “close the agreement” with Washington, she said.
Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard will also return to Washington on Thursday for the second time since last week, for talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, his office said. Sheinbaum has repeatedly expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with Trump. She has said she will speak with her US counterpart again by phone if needed to seal a deal and indicated she was open to a possible face-to-face meeting at some point.
Shortly after taking office, Trump announced duties of up to 25 percent on Mexican imports, citing illegal immigration and the flow of deadly fentanyl. He issued a last-minute suspension until March 4, after Sheinbaum agreed to deploy 10,000 more troops to the Mexico-US border. Asked Wednesday about the halt, Trump said he was not stopping the tariffs and that he planned for them to take effect on April 2. “The tariffs go on, not all of them, but a lot of them,” he said.
Sheinbaum has pledged to collaborate with Washington while rejecting any “invasion” of her country’s sovereignty after the United States designated six Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. Authorities last week announced the capture of two prominent members of the Sinaloa cartel, which Washington accuses of being a major player in fentanyl trafficking.
© 2024 AFP
