MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) - Within hours of signing a crucial deal with Mexico, President Donald Trump made it clear that a 5 percent tariff on imports cannot be ruled out if the neighboring country's parliament doesn't approve it.
'We have fully signed and documented another very important part of the Immigration and Security deal with Mexico, one that the U.S. has been asking about getting for many years. It will be revealed in the not too distant future and will need a vote by Mexico's Legislative body,' Trump said in an early morning tweet Monday.
He warned that although Washington does not anticipate a problem with the vote, 'if for any reason the approval is not forthcoming, Tariffs will be reinstated.'
Trump announced late Friday that the 5 percent tariff he threatened to impose on goods imported from Monday has been 'indefinitely suspended' in return for Mexico's assurance to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through that country, and to US Southern Border.
Mexico said it will take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, including deploying 6,000 members of the National Guard on its southern border with Guatemala.
Central American migrants trying to enter the United States through Mexico is a thorny issue in relations between the two neighboring countries.
In an attempt to press Mexico to stem the flow of illegal migration, Trump threatened to raise duties by 5 percent every month on goods including cars, beer, tequila, fruit and vegetables.
'There is now going to be great cooperation between Mexico & the USA, something that didn't exist for decades. However, if for some unknown reason, there is not, we can always go back to our previous, very profitable, position of Tariffs', Trump said on Sunday, adding that he does not believe that will be necessary.
In the meantime, Trump did not spare the Democrats and the media over their response to the Mexico deal.
'Now with our new deal, Mexico is doing more for the USA on Illegal Immigration than the Democrats,' he said on Monday. 'In fact, the Democrats are doing NOTHING, they want Open Borders, which means Illegal Immigration, Drugs and Crime,' according to him.
In another post on Twitter, he called the New York Times' front page story on the new Mexico deal 'a fraud and nothing more than a badly reported hit job' on him.
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