US drops Mexico tariff post migrants deal

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump said he would drop plans for tariffs on Mexico that he’d been threatening to impose for the past week after the country promised new steps to stem an influx of illegal migration into the US.
“I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico,” Trump said in a tweet.
“The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the US on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended.”
Under the deal, Mexico will expand deployment of its national guard throughout the country, “giving priority to its southern border,” according to a joint statement from the two countries. Asylum seekers who cross into the US will be quickly returned to Mexico where they’ll wait for their claims to be resolved; the US agreed to accelerate adjudication.
Trump’s decision marked a dramatic turnaround after he persistently criticised Mexico for failing to prevent Central American migrants from traversing the country to get to the US. The decision marks a victory for Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose administration had been pressing Trump to drop the tariff threat.
The deal preempts Trump’s planned 5 percent tariff on all Mexican imports to the US that the president said could increase to 25 percent by October.
The decision was welcomed by Republicans and others who warned the tariffs would damage the American economy, hurt job growth and delay or altogether scuttle a trade deal between the US, Canada and Mexico, known as the USMCA, which still needs lawmaker ratification. Mexico is the second-biggest source of US imports.
“Mexico came through,” said Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican opposed to the tariffs, in a tweet soon after Trump’s announcement.
“I look forward to working with the administration and my colleagues in the House and Senate to pass USMCA without delay so that American companies and workers can reap the benefits of this updated and modernised agreement,” Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, said in a statement.
Mexico said the deal was reached after several days of talks, including 12 hours of discussions.