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Trump threatens to double tariffs on Mexico over migrants
President's authority on tariffs is unclear after Supreme Court decision earlier this year
Trucks at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry on the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana. (Carlos Moreno/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
- President Donald Trump threatened Nov. 12 to immediately double tariffs on Mexican goods unless Mexico stopped migrant caravans he said were forming.
- The threat escalated trade tensions after a Supreme Court ruling curtailed Trump’s tariff powers and amid stalled U.S.-Mexico trade negotiations.
- Trump gave no deadline for Mexico to act, while Mexican officials did not immediately respond and tariff negotiations remained at an impasse.
President Donald Trump threatened to double tariffs on goods from Mexico “immediately” if the country did not stop what he claimed were migrant caravans preparing to head to the US, ratcheting up trade tensions with a major economic partner.
“MEXICO MUST STOP THEM, NOW, and if they do not do so, the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED,” Trump said in a social media post Nov. 12.
The president did not provide a timeline for Mexico to act and it was not immediately clear what legal authority he had to double levies on imports following a Supreme Court decision earlier this year curtailing his tariff powers.
Mexico’s peso slipped, touching session lows after Trump’s post. Mexico’s Foreign and Economy Ministries didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
Reuters reported Nov. 11 that a small group of migrants was moving through Mexico after the U.S. midterm elections. Trump in his post claimed that “Huge CARAVANS” were forming. The president repeatedly cited the drop in border crossings under his administration in his pitch to voters ahead of last week’s election in which voters widely rejected his Republican party.
Despite devastating losses for the GOP, Trump signaled his intention to maintain his hardline stance on immigration by naming Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s aggressive anti-immigration policies, to be chief of staff.
Trump has repeatedly made tariff threats against U.S. trading partners in order to extract concessions, following through on some but holding off on others. The Trump administration is currently engaged in negotiations with Mexico after the president declined to extend the North American trade pact, known as USMCA, this summer. The president brokered that deal during his first term but has lately derided it as unnecessary.
Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in last week’s election, including key state-level races. In Texas, Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa unseated longtime GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
Trump has been lashing out over the result and seeking to deflect blame, saying that he was not on the ballot even though he urged supporters to act as though he were, and claiming the party fielded weak candidates, many of whom he had pushed.
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“I WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT- the INVASION of our Country is taking place again,” Trump said in his post. “MEXICO, THE GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, THE VERY LIBERAL NEW GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, OUR GREAT BORDER PATROL, & ICE, HAVE BEEN SO INFORMED.”
The U.S. and Mexico appeared to have momentum toward a deal earlier this fall, but hit an impasse over tariffs on steel and aluminum, people familiar with the matter said.
Talks cooled off after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attempted to take over the negotiations and took issue with Mexican officials’ demands for reduced tariffs on metals in October, according to some of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
