Mike Pence to deliver Trump’s demands to Mexican officials as tariff deadline looms

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence will lead pivotal talks Wednesday with Mexican officials amid growing domestic opposition to President Donald Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on all Mexican imports. 

The high-stakes negotiations, set for Wednesday afternoon at the White House, come a week after Trump said he would impose 5% tariffs on Mexico, starting on June 10, unless the Mexican government stops the flow of Central American migrants coming to the U.S. border.

Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver the president’s deultimatum to top Mexican officials, who raced to Washington immediately after Trump’s surprise announcement. Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, and other top officials have argued that Mexico has already taken aggressive steps to curb migration and that the tariffs would hurt both countries’ economies. 

“Without Mexico’s efforts, an additional quarter-million migrants could arrive at the U.S. border in 2019,” Martha Barcena, Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., told reporters at a news conference earlier this week. Slapping tariffs on Mexico, along with the Trump administration’s decision to halt aid to Central American countries, is “counterproductive,” she said, and will not reduce migration flows.

Earlier this week, Trump dismissed Mexico’s argument and vowed to press ahead with the plan. He said the tariffs would increase by 5 percentage points each month, until they hit 25% on Oct. 1.  

Vice President Mike Pence arrives to speak at the 49th Washington Conference on the Americas, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, at the U.S. State Department in Washington. (Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP)

But on Wednesday, Trump talked up the possibility of a deal with Mexico. 

“I think they want to do something. I think they want to make a deal, “ Trump told reporters during a stop in Ireland . “We’ll see what happens.”

A top White House adviser also suggested that Trump may back down because the Mexican government has shown a willingness to negotiate.

“We believe that these tariffs may not have to go into effect precisely because we have the Mexicans’ attention,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told CNN. 

Top Republicans in Congress have warned the Trump administration against imposing the new tariffs, saying the president risks an embarrassing congressional reversal if he goes through with the plan.

“Republicans don’t like taxes on American consumers, which is what tariffs are,” Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told reporters on Tuesday.

“I think the president and the administration ought to be concerned about another vote of disapproval,” said Johnson, R-Wis., referring to a legislative tool lawmakers could use to overturn Trump’s justification for the tariffs.

Although Congress could block Trump’s move, it’s unclear if they have the votes to override a presidential veto. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., noted that the White House has not sent Congress any official notification explaining the tariffs and Trump’s legal justification for imposing them. But she said he appears to be using a law that allows the U.S. to sanction American enemies, not to slap tariffs on allies.

“I think that this is dangerous territory,” Pelosi said at a news conference on Wednesday. “This is not a way to treat a friend. It’s not a way to deal with immigration. It’s not a way to meet the humanitarian needs at the border.”

She said it may also jeopardize the new trade agreement Trump reached with Mexico and Canada. 

The Senate’s top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, essentially accused Trump of bluffing and said he didn’t think Trump would follow through on the tariffs.

Contributing: Maureen Groppe

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