Trump says that if he becomes president he will impose 25% tariffs if the Government of Mexico does not stop illegal immigration

( Spanish) – In a campaign speech the day before the United States elections, Republican candidate Donald Trump said that, if elected president, one of the first calls he will make is to Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico.

“I don’t know her, but they tell me she is a kind woman,” Trump said, adding that when he calls her he will inform her that the United States Government will impose 25% tariffs on products imported from Mexico if his government fails to stop the flow of “criminals and drugs” entering the country.

The proposal he revealed has not been detailed previously. According to the candidate, he did not want to make it public to prevent his opponent, Kamala Harris, from suggesting something similar. “You are the first to know. Congratulations, North Carolina,” he said at a rally in Raleigh.

The imposition of 25% tariffs is only the starting point of the negotiation that Trump plans to make with Sheinbaum.

“It has a 100% chance of working. Because if that doesn’t work I’ll make it 50, and if that doesn’t work it’ll be 75 and then 100 (%). And there will come a time when they will have so many military personnel on their southern border… It will work,” Trump said.

contacted the Mexican Presidency to find out its reaction to Trump’s statements. “At the moment our statements are neutral. There will be no intervention in the United States electoral process. The president has already said it in her press conferences,” said the Social Communication coordinator of the Presidency.

However, during his morning press conference on Monday, Sheinbaum said important work is already being done to demonstrate the importance of the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal to Washington.

“The T-MEC not only benefits Mexico, but it also benefits the United States in a very important way,” said the president of Mexico and added that “the treaty complements us, there is no competition between nations between our countries.”

In addition, Sheinbaum assured that there will be a good relationship with whoever is the new president of the United States.

“And we are going to continue with high-level dialogues for issues related to our relationship, from migration issues, the issue of fentanyl, which is an important issue for the United States for humanitarian reasons, but also other issues, such as trafficking. of weapons from the United States to Mexico and other issues of the commercial relationship,” he concluded.

It is the second supplier in the United States. Imports from Mexico totaled almost US$455 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. Among the products purchased, vehicles, fruits, vegetables and electrical equipment stand out.