US Tariffs Looming - Many In Mexico Back President’s Approach

[rainman + 263]

Facing possible crippling tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose on the United States’ biggest trading partner, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has responded with calm and calls for continued friendship, and avoided strong language that could cause the dispute to deteriorate. He wants dialogue, not a Twitter spat, and much less a trade war with the country that buys 80 percent of Mexican exports. The Mexican government, which has struggled to cope with large numbers of mostly Central American migrants, has not publicly proposed any new policies, instead seeming to opt for a strategy of convincing Washington that it is already doing its part on migration. Under López Obrador, who took office Dec. 1, Mexico has increased deportations and highway checkpoints in the south while raiding migrants traveling in a large caravan and atop freight trains. It has also insisted that human rights are at the core of its policy, and said it won’t criminalize migration. A poll tracking his day-to-day popularity saw it rise about four points from Trump’s announcement May 27 to nearly two-thirds approval as of Tuesday. And on Sunday, voters handed López Obrador’s Morena party the governorships in two states with significant trade ties to the United States — Puebla, home to a Volkswagen plant, and Baja California, which borders California and is dotted with manufacturing and assembly plants known as “maquiladoras.”
 

[pinto + 293]

I agree. But, there is one lesson for them: Mexico should probably improve her trade ties with other countries too. Its export market seems too much dependent on US.

[francoba + 93]

Hm... Let's say paying for the wall is going to look like a bargain compared to tarrifs...

[Pavel + 384]

1 minute ago, francoba said:

Hm... Let's say paying for the wall is going to look like a bargain compared to tarrifs...

One mile of fencing has been built and cost half a trillion dollars....

[rainman + 263]

Meanwhile, McConnell says Senate Republicans don't support threatened Mexico tariffs 

[50 shades of black + 254]

1 minute ago, rainman said:

Meanwhile, McConnell says Senate Republicans don't support threatened Mexico tariffs 

I don't think the president Trump will be happy about this...

[damirUSBiH + 327]

5 minutes ago, rainman said:

Meanwhile, McConnell says Senate Republicans don't support threatened Mexico tariffs 

 

3 minutes ago, 50 shades of black said:

I don't think the president Trump will be happy about this...

 

 

Already he said: ".... President Donald Trump is making clear he has no intention of cutting a quick face-saving deal, warning on Twitter late Tuesday that he’s not “bluffing” in his threat to impose 5% tariffs on all imports from Mexico starting June 10."...

[GSXRblur + 18]

4 hours ago, Pavel said:

One mile of fencing has been built and cost half a trillion dollars....

Wow!  I would like to see a link from where these numbers were derived.

[Matthew w + 27]

1 hour ago, GSXRblur said:

Wow!  I would like to see a link from where these numbers were derived.

There's a bloomberg news article reporting it cost 1.57 billion for 1.7 miles of fence. His figure is a tad bit off :).

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

9 hours ago, rainman said:

Facing possible crippling tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose on the United States’ biggest trading partner

I don't think that is entirely accurate.  Historically, the "biggest trading partner" of the USA is Canada.  For a brief time I recall that China eclipsed Canada, but I suspect that with the "trade war" China has slipped behind Canada.   Mexico is further back.

That said, it would be logical that the USA is Mexico's largest trading partner, both in volume and dollars.  I have not checked the numbers, so if someone has, please chime in. Keep in mind that Mexico no longer is an oil exporter (net), so that large source of export earnings is history. 

I remain surprised that Volkswagen continues to make the costly efforts to remain in the US market.  Others have thrown in the towel, including Peugeot and Citroen, some low-end Korean brands, the Russians and their Lada (no surprise there), and various British cars.  If I was running the company, I would have walked. Getting to be way too much hassle.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

11 hours ago, Pavel said:

One mile of fencing has been built and cost half a trillion dollars....

Where did you get that information???

[ronwagn + 6,290]

RINO Republicans may be the biggest opponents of tariffs. They are bought and paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Any Senator who votes against the tariffs should be primaried. The costs involved in illegal immigrants should be discussed. 

https://www.irli.org/single-post/2017/09/27/New-FAIR-Study-Illegal-Immigration-Costs-116-billion-Annually?gclid=CjwKCAjw0N3nBRBvEiwAHMwvNlyzS5vh2iSP-efmhaYgaXXrutmMb2si7aWuuDqV_hMp4-L8O6NgMRoCMIoQAvD_BwE

https://www.numbersusa.com/

 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

12 hours ago, pinto said:

I agree. But, there is one lesson for them: Mexico should probably improve her trade ties with other countries too. Its export market seems too much dependent on US.

They would have to add a lot of transport costs. We are neighbors. "Good walls make good neighbors". 

[rainman + 263]

15 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

I don't think that is entirely accurate.  Historically, the "biggest trading partner" of the USA is Canada.  For a brief time I recall that China eclipsed Canada, but I suspect that with the "trade war" China has slipped behind Canada.   Mexico is further back.

That said, it would be logical that the USA is Mexico's largest trading partner, both in volume and dollars.  I have not checked the numbers, so if someone has, please chime in. Keep in mind that Mexico no longer is an oil exporter (net), so that large source of export earnings is history. 

I remain surprised that Volkswagen continues to make the costly efforts to remain in the US market.  Others have thrown in the towel, including Peugeot and Citroen, some low-end Korean brands, the Russians and their Lada (no surprise there), and various British cars.  If I was running the company, I would have walked. Getting to be way too much hassle.

Everything, or almost everything on one place:

mexico
U.S. goods and services trade with Mexico totaled an estimated $671.0 billion in 2018. Exports were $299.1 billion; imports were $371.9 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with Mexico was $72.7 billion in 2018... Mexico is currently our 3rd largest goods trading partner with $611.5 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2018. Goods exports totaled $265.0 billion; goods imports totaled $346.5 billion. 
Mexico was the United States' 2nd largest goods export market in 2018. The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2018 were: machinery ($46 billion), electrical machinery ($43 billion), mineral fuels ($34 billion), vehicles ($22 billion), and plastics ($18 billion).,,,

canada
U.S. goods and services trade with Canada totaled an estimated $714.1 billion in 2018. Exports were $360.5 billion; imports were $353.6 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade surplus with Canada was $7.0 billion in 2018.
Canada is currently our 2nd largest goods trading partner with $617.2 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2018. Goods exports totaled $298.7 billion; goods imports totaled $318.5 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Canada was $19.8 billion in 2018.
Canada was the United States' largest goods export market in 2018. The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2018 were: vehicles ($52 billion), machinery ($45 billion), electrical machinery ($26 billion), mineral fuels ($26 billion), and plastics ($14 billion)....

https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/americas/canada

 

[lisava@shrieve.com 0]

I seriously doubt that Mexico will be able to convince Washington without showing results.

With a record of more than 100k illegal immigrants detained only on the Western section of the border in May, unless those numbers drop, I don't see Washington removing the tariffs. It is definitely a very hard task for Mexico to accomplish but a tariff seems a better choice than a wall....