Mexico dispatched its foreign minister to the United States Friday amid a heightened conflict over trade and immigration, and he came armed with a letter asking President Trump to cool it.
Marcelo Ebrard was slated to arrive in Washington Friday night, the Mexican embassy said, a day after Mr. Trump announced he would impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports on June 10, then ratchet it up monthly until it reaches 25%
Mr. Trump said he was fed up with the thousands of Central American migrants Mexico allows to enter its territory each day, en route to the U.S. with plans to jump the border.
Mexico says the tariffs are unfair and counterproductive.
Mr. Ebrard was carrying a letter signed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calling for more talks.
“I propose that we deepen our dialogue and seek real alternatives to address the issue of migration. Please bear in mind, that I do not act cowardly or timidly, but on principles,” he wrote.
He claimed Mexico is “fulfilling its responsibility” to control illegal immigration across its lands “with full respect to human rights.”
He said the chief proof of that is that illegal immigration from Mexico has fallen dramatically since the last decade.
But he said the solutions to Central American migration will take lengthy nation-building in that region.
“Human beings do not abandon their hometowns by choice but by necessity. This is why, from the beginning of my tenure, I proposed that we both should opt for development cooperation to help Central American countries to attract productive investments that create jobs to resolve this grave issue at its core,” he wrote.
It’s unlikely those appeals will sway Mr. Trump, who in a lengthy statement Thursday announcing the tariffs lambasted Mexico as abusing U.S. goodwill.
“Mexico cannot allow hundreds of thousands of people to pour over its land and into our country — violating the sovereign territory of the United States,” the president said. “If Mexico does not take decisive measures, it will come at a significant price.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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