Mexico and the United States have agreed on a deal to stop the flow of illegal Central American immigrants from coming into the U.S., President Trump tweeted late Friday. The president said the deal suspended steep tariffs on imported Mexican goods that would have gone into effect on Monday.

The tariffs raised fears that they could cripple some American businesses and raise prices for American consumers on everything from cars to produce.

The deal came after three days of negotiations to stop the flow of mostly Central American migrants traveling to the U.S. through Mexico. In a joint declaration, Mexico agreed to increase its enforcement efforts along their southern border with Guatemala, including deploying their national guard troops.

Mexico also agreed to take action against human smuggling and trafficking organizations.

"The tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended," Mr. Trump tweeted. "Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed the president's tweet with a statement.

"We would like to thank Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard for his hard work to negotiate a set of joint obligations that benefit both the United States and Mexico," Pompeo said. "The United States looks forward to working alongside Mexico to fulfill these commitments so that we can stem the tide of illegal migration across our southern border and to make our border strong and secure."

The agreement leaves open the possibility that the deal could be altered if progress is not considered sufficient. "Both parties also agree that, in the event the measures adopted do not have the expected results, they will take further actions," the agreement said.

Under the agreement, the U.S. will also "immediately" expand its Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the "Remain-in-Mexico" policy, which started at the end of January. Individuals who are trying to come to the U.S. to seek asylum will be returned to Mexico to wait for their asylum claims to be heard in court. Mexico said that it will offer jobs, healthcare and education to the asylum-seekers.

In a series of tweets Saturday morning, Mr. Trump continued defending his last-minute decision call off the tariffs, blaming the media for perceived negative reporting. He also said Mexico had agreed to purchase "large quantities" of agricultural product from American farmers.

MEXICO HAS AGREED TO IMMEDIATELY BEGIN BUYING LARGE QUANTITIES OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT FROM OUR GREAT PATRIOT FARMERS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 8, 2019

The president also tweeted that House Democrats should ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, the renegotiated NAFTA deal.

Mr. Trump had faced some strong criticism from Republicans who represent states with large farming populations, such as Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa. Ernst said in a statement Friday night that "Iowans are breathing a sigh of relief" now that the tariffs were not going into effect. It was unclear whether there were enough votes to block the tariffs from going into effect in Congress.

A tariff deal also had not seemed certain. The White House did not publicly identify what targets Mexico needed to meet, and said Mexico wasn't offering enough to curb illegal immigration. Top White House officials had insisted the tariffs were imminent if Mexico didn't drastically crack down on the flow of migrants.

Mr. Trump appeared to muddy the waters even more Friday afternoon while tweeting from Air Force One that Mexico would buy more agricultural products from the U.S. — even though the White House insisted the proposed tariffs were about immigration, not trade.

"If we are able to make the deal with Mexico, & there is a good chance that we will, they will begin purchasing Farm & Agricultural products at very high levels, starting immediately," Mr. Trump tweeted. "If we are unable to make the deal, Mexico will begin paying Tariffs at the 5% level on Monday!"

"Remains to be seen" if trade deal will change how Mexico handles U.S. immigration

For months, Mr. Trump has vocalized his frustration over illegal immigration levels and sought ways to stem the tide of migrants, as he attempts to keep his campaign promise to build a border wall and handle illegal immigration more effectively than his predecessors. But those attempts have been fraught with hurdles, both legal and political, with the 2020 presidential election just around the corner.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement Saturday criticizing Mr. Trump for backing down from his threat of tariffs. Schumer said the new deal would only make a "small impact on solving the root causes of Central American migration because many of the components are things Mexico is already doing."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was also critical of Mr. Trump, saying that he had "undermined America's preeminent leadership role in the world by recklessly threatening to impose tariffs on our close friend and neighbor to the south."

"We are deeply disappointed by the Administration's expansion of its failed Remain-in-Mexico policy, which violates the rights of asylum seekers under U.S. law and fails to address the root causes of Central American migration," Pelosi said in a statement, adding that "threats and temper tantrums are no way to negotiate foreign policy."

In December, Mr. Trump's insistence on border wall funding led to the longest government shutdown on record, but the president ultimately gave in when the impacts of the shutdown became visible. </s> President Donald Trump has suspended planned tariffs against Mexico, saying that an agreement has been reached on border enforcement to stem the tide of illegal migration into the U.S. from Central America.

'I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico,' Trump wrote in a tweet on Friday, three days before the first tariffs were set to take effect.

'The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended. Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border,' he continued, shortly after arriving back at the White House from a trip to the UK and Ireland.

'This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States. Details of the agreement will be released shortly be the State Department. Thank you!'

A spokesman for Mexico's foreign ministry confirmed that an agreement had been reached to suspend the tariffs, however details of the deal were not immediately clear.

Trump had previously vowed to put a 5 per cent tariff on all imports from Mexico starting on June 10, to be increased an additional 5 per cent monthly until reaching 25 per cent, unless Mexico cooperated on immigration enforcement.

Crunch talks between US and Mexican officials continued through the day on Friday at the State Department in Washington, with the Trump administration demanding a tough crackdown on the Central American migrants and an agreement to accept their asylum petitions inside Mexico.

Such an agreement, known as a 'safe third country' agreement, was thought to be a key sticking point of the talks.

Mexico has previously refused to agree to the commitment, under which asylum seekers would be required to apply for benefits in the first safe country they enter, and not the country where they ultimately want to settle.

Earlier this week, Mexico ordered 6,000 troops to its own southern border in a crackdown on illegal crossings and attempt to appease Trump.

The show of force included the halting of a caravan of more than 1,000 migrants, the type of group that Mexico has long allowed to continue freely through its territory toward the U.S.

If a deal could not be reached, the US intended to hit hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of imports from Mexico with 5 per cent tariffs beginning Monday - a move which could have clobbered Mexico's economy.

The tariffs would have also increased the costs of some imported goods for U.S. consumers.

'We're doing all right,' Trump said without elaborating as he returned to Washington on Friday evening from Europe, as reporters shouted questions about the negotiations with Mexico.

But after leaving Ireland earlier in the day he tweeted that 'there is a good chance' that an agreement could be reached.

On Friday, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard met with US officials at the State Department for a third straight day to discuss US demands for a crackdown on migrants.

Talks went on late in the afternoon, and there was no news on whether they were making progress.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday morning he was 'optimistic' for a deal.

The Trump administration has demanded Mexico take tough action to halt the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing chronic poverty and violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, who are hoping to request asylum in the United States.

The number of migrants intercepted illegally crossing the border surged to 144,000 in May, the highest level in 13 years.

Many were Central Americans traveling with children, which under current rules means they are often released into the U.S. interior pending an asylum court date.

The US insists Mexico must lock down its border with Guatemala to the south and agree to let asylum seekers register their claims inside Mexico, presumably to wait there while their applications are processed. </s> , Washington, United States, Jun 7 – The United States and Mexico reached an 11th-hour deal late Friday to crack down on migration from Central America, with President Donald Trump relenting on threats to slap potentially devastating tariffs on the neighboring country.

With Trump ready to impose five percent tariffs on all Mexican goods starting Monday, senior officials hammered out an agreement after three days of intense negotiations at the State Department.

Under the deal, Mexico acknowledged and agreed to expand its policy of taking back migrants from violence-riven Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador as the United States processes their asylum claims.

In turn, Mexico managed to avoid a proposal it had continually rejected — that it process asylum claims on its own soil before migrants try to reach the United States.

“I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico. The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended,” Trump wrote on Twitter shortly after returning from a trip to Europe.

“Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border. This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States.”

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had planned to head Saturday to the border city of Tijuana to show solidarity ahead of the tariffs, said that his trip would instead be to “celebrate.”

“Thanks to the support of all Mexicans, we were able to avoid tariffs on Mexican products exported to the United States,” tweeted Lopez Obrador, who since his election last year has tried studiously not to antagonize Trump.

Trump, who ran for president pushing a tough line on immigration that included denouncing undocumented Mexicans as rapists, had vowed to raise tariffs as high as 25 percent unless Mexico — which exports $350 billion in goods each year to the United States — takes further action against migrants.

The tariffs would have clobbered Mexico’s economy, which is integrated with the United States and Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement, with experts warning of a recession and Fitch rating service already downgrading Mexico’s credit rating.

But the tariffs also drew unusually strong opposition from Trump’s fellow Republicans, especially lawmakers from farm states who worried about losing their second largest international market.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who quickly flew to Washington and had stayed ever since following Trump’s tariff threat by Twitter on May 30, said he believed the two sides had found a compromise.

“I think it was a fair balance, because they have more drastic measures and proposals,” he told reporters as he left the State Department following a final day of talks that lasted 12 hours.

“We have reached some middle point,” he said.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hailed the deal between the US and Mexico as “very, very significant.”

Speaking to reporters Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, Mnuchin said: “We couldn’t be more pleased with the agreement that we reached. It is very, very significant and we very much appreciate the commitments that Mexico has made to help us on those important immigration issues.”

Mexico pledged in a joint statement to take “unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration.”

“The Governments of the United States and Mexico will work together to immediately implement a durable solution,” it said.

Mexico will deploy National Guard troops throughout the country, “giving priority to its southern border” with Guatemala. It will also target human smuggling and trafficking groups.

Making official a policy that has triggered opposition in both countries, the United States said it would systematically send back asylum seekers who cross the border, with Mexico offering them jobs, health care and education.

Thousands of asylum seekers have already been sent back to Mexico, prompting criticism from human rights campaigners that the migrants will lack due process and face new danger in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez.

Trump, who has declared a crisis at the border and earlier deployed troops, says that asylum seekers can too easily slip into the population while on US soil.

In a shift from the past when most undocumented immigrants were men seeking work, a majority of recent arrivals are families or unaccompanied children fleeing violence.

The number of migrants detained or blocked at the border surged to 144,000 in May, triple the level a year earlier.

Senator Joni Ernst, who represents the farming state of Iowa and had broken with Trump on the tariffs, said that her state was “breathing a sigh of relief” with the deal.

But Democrats denounced Trump for taking the United States and Mexico to the brink.

“What we see is yet another example of him trying to be both the arsonist who created this problem in the first place and the firefighter who wants credit for addressing it,” said Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who represented the Texas border city of El Paso in Congress.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, mocked Trump’s triumphant announcement of a deal to reduce illegal immigration.

“Now that that problem is solved, I’m sure we won’t be hearing any more about it in the future,” Schumer tweeted.

In the joint statement, the US and Mexico said they would continue discussions and could announce further measures if the plan does not lead to “the expected results.” </s> Trump says US, Mexico reach agreement to prevent tariffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced late Friday that he had suspended plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, tweeting that the country "has agreed to take strong measures" to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States. But the deal the two neighbors agreed to falls short of some of the dramatic overhauls the U.S. had pushed for.

A "U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration" released by the State Department said the U.S. "will immediately expand the implementation" of a program that returns asylum-seekers who cross the southern border to Mexico while their claims are adjudicated. Mexico will "offer jobs, healthcare and education" to those people, the agreement stated.

Mexico has also agreed, it said, to take "unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration," including the deployment of the Mexican National Guard throughout the country, especially on its southern border with Guatemala. And Mexico is taking "decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks," the State Department said.

The move puts to an end — for now — a threat that had sparked dire warnings from members of Trump's own party, who warned the tariffs would damage the economy, drive up prices for consumers and imperil an updated North American trade pact. Trump's Friday night tweet marked a sharp reversal from earlier in the day, when his spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters: "Our position has not changed. The tariffs are going forward as of Monday."

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador tweeted, "Thanks to the support of all Mexicans, the imposition of tariffs on Mexican products exported to the USA has been avoided." He called for a gathering to celebrate in Tijuana Saturday.

The changes, in part, continue steps the Trump administration was already taking. The U.S. announced in December that it would make some asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases were being proceeded — a begrudging agreement with Mexico that has taken months to scale and that has been plagued with glitches, including wrong court dates, travel problems and issues with lawyers reaching their clients.

Homeland Security officials have been ramping up slowly, and were already working to spread the program along the border before the latest blowup. About 10,000 people have been returned to Mexico to wait out the processing of their immigration cases since the program began Jan. 29. More than 100,000 migrants are currently crossing the U.S. border each month, but not everyone claims asylum and migrants can wait an entire year before making a claim.

Any sizable increase may also be difficult to achieve. At the San Ysidro crossing alone, Mexico had been prepared to accept up to 120 asylum seekers per week, but for the first six weeks only 40 people per week were returned.

Trump had announced the tariff plan last week, declaring in a tweet that, on June 10, the U.S. would "impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP." U.S. officials had laid out steps Mexico could take to prevent the tariffs, but many had doubts that even those steps would be enough to satisfy Trump on illegal immigration, a signature issue of his presidency and one that he sees as crucial to his 2020 re-election campaign.

After returning from Europe Friday, though, Trump tweeted, "I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico." He wrote that the "Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended."

He said Mexico has agreed to work to "stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border" and said those steps would "greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States."

The 5% tax on all Mexican goods , which would increase every month up to 25% under Trump's plan, would have had enormous economic implications for both countries. Americans bought $378 billion worth of Mexican imports last year, led by cars and auto parts. Many members of Trump's Republican Party and business allies had urged him to reconsider — or at least postpone actually implementing the tariffs as talks continue — citing the potential harm to American consumers and manufactures.

From the moment Trump announced the tariff threat, observers wondered whether he would pull the trigger, noting his habit of creating problems and then claiming credit when he rushes in to solve them.

In late March, Trump threatened to shut the entire U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico didn't immediately halt illegal immigration. Just a few days later, he backed off that threat, saying he was pleased with steps Mexico had taken. It was unclear, however, what — if anything — Mexico had changed.

U.S. and Mexican officials met for more than 10 hours Friday during a third day of talks at the U.S. State Department trying to hash out a deal that would satisfy Trump's demand that Mexico dramatically increase its efforts to crack down on migrants.

The talks had been focused, in part, on attempting to reach a compromise on changes that would make it harder for migrants who pass through Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S., those monitoring the situation said. Mexico has long opposed such a change but appeared open to considering a potential compromise that could include exceptions or waivers for different types of cases. The joint declaration, however makes no mention of the issue.

Leaving the State Department Friday night, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said he thought the deal struck "a fair balance" because the U.S. "had more drastic proposals and measures at the start."

But Leticia Calderón Cheluis, a migration expert at the Mora Institute in Mexico City, said the agreement is essentially a series of compromises solely by Mexico, which she said committed to "a double clamp at both borders."

Trump in recent months has embraced tariffs as a political tool he can use to force countries to comply with his demands — in this case on his signature issue of immigration. Beyond Trump and several White House advisers, though, few in his administration had believed the tariffs were a good idea, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations. Those people had worried about the negative economic consequences for Americans and argued that tariffs — which would likely spark retaliatory taxes on U.S. exports — would also hurt the administration politically.

Republicans in Congress had also warned the White House that they were ready to stand up to the president to try to block his tariffs, which they worried would spike costs to U.S. consumers, harm the economy and imperil a major pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal .

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., greeted Friday night's news with sarcasm. "This is an historic night!" he tweeted. "Now that that problem is solved, I'm sure we won't be hearing any more about it in the future."

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Colleen Long, Paul Wiseman, Lisa Mascaro, Darlene Superville and Padmananda Rama in Washington and Jonathan Lemire in Shannon, Ireland contributed to this report. </s> The United States and Mexico reached an agreement on immigration enforcement Friday and President Donald Trump said tariffs that were scheduled to hit Mexico on Monday had been "indefinitely suspended" as a result.



Under the agreement, Mexico has agreed to deploy its national guard throughout the country with priority given to its southern border to stem migration from Central America. Asylum seekers crossing the U.S. southern border will be sent back to Mexico where they will await the adjudication of their asylum claims, according to the joint declaration.



U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration



The United States and Mexico met this week to address the shared challenges of irregular migration, to include the entry of migrants into the United States in violation of U.S. law. Given the dramatic increase in migrants moving from Central America through Mexico to the United States, both countries recognize the vital importance of rapidly resolving the humanitarian emergency and security situation. The Governments of the United States and Mexico will work together to immediately implement a durable solution.



As a result of these discussions, the United States and Mexico commit to:



Mexican Enforcement Surge



Mexico will take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, to include the deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border. Mexico is also taking decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks. Additionally, the United States and Mexico commit to strengthen bilateral cooperation, including information sharing and coordinated actions to better protect and secure our common border.



Migrant Protection Protocols



The United States will immediately expand the implementation of the existing Migrant Protection Protocols across its entire Southern Border. This means that those crossing the U.S. Southern Border to seek asylum will be rapidly returned to Mexico where they may await the adjudication of their asylum claims.



In response, Mexico will authorize the entrance of all of those individuals for humanitarian reasons, in compliance with its international obligations, while they await the adjudication of their asylum claims. Mexico will also offer jobs, healthcare and education according to its principles.



The United States commits to work to accelerate the adjudication of asylum claims and to conclude removal proceedings as expeditiously as possible.



Further Actions



Both parties also agree that, in the event the measures adopted do not have the expected results, they will take further actions. Therefore, the United States and Mexico will continue their discussions on the terms of additional understandings to address irregular migrant flows and asylum issues, to be completed and announced within 90 days, if necessary.



Ongoing Regional Strategy



The United States and Mexico reiterate their previous statement of December 18, 2018, that both countries recognize the strong links between promoting development and economic growth in southern Mexico and the success of promoting prosperity, good governance and security in Central America. The United States and Mexico welcome the Comprehensive Development Plan launched by the Government of Mexico in concert with the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to promote these goals. The United States and Mexico will lead in working with regional and international partners to build a more prosperous and secure Central America to address the underlying causes of migration, so that citizens of the region can build better lives for themselves and their families at home. </s> In a surprise announcement that could derail a trade deal, President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is slapping a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports, effective June 10, to pressure the country to do more to crack down on the surge of migrants trying to cross the U.S. border.

He said the percentage will gradually increase — up to 25% — “until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied.”

The decision showed the administration going to new lengths, and looking for new levers, to pressure Mexico to take action — even if those risk upending other policy priorities, such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal that is the cornerstone of Trump’s legislative agenda. It also risks further damaging the already strained relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, two countries whose economics are deeply intertwined.

Trump made the announcement via tweet after telling reporters earlier Thursday that he was planning “a major statement” that would be his “biggest” on the border.

“On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP,” he wrote. “The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied.”

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador responded in a public letter Thursday, telling Trump that “social problems are not solved with duties or coercive measures” and alluded to the United States’ history as a nation of immigrants. “The Statue of Liberty is not an empty symbol,” he wrote. He said he was dispatching his foreign relations secretary to Washington, D.C., on Friday to try to negotiate a solution.

In his growing fury over an increase in border crossings that he has likened to an “invasion,” Trump has blamed Mexico for failing to stop the flow of asylum seekers from countries such as El Salvador and Honduras who pass through its territory.

He has been itching to take headline-grabbing action on the issue, which he sees as critical to his 2020 campaign because it energizes his base.

But the sudden tariff threat comes at a peculiar time, given how hard the administration has been pushing for passage of the USMCA, which would update the North American Free Trade Agreement.

It comes less than two weeks after Trump lifted import taxes on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum, a move that seemed to clear an obstacle to its passage, and the same day that both Trump and López Obrador began the process of seeking ratification. The deal needs approval from lawmakers in all three countries before it takes effect.

“The tariffs certainly put the USMCA on ice,” said Gary Hufbauer, an expert in trade law at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who panned the move but said Trump does have the legal authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by citing a national emergency.

“The drama is legal, but it’s preposterous,” he said.

Daniel Ujczo, a U.S.-based international trade lawyer, said the threat would likely slow the deal’s progress in Mexico and put U.S. lawmakers who want to vote “yes” in a difficult position because companies in their districts will end up paying the tariffs.

It wouldn’t be the first time Trump has punted on an immigration threat. In late March, Trump threatened to shut the entire southern border if Mexico didn’t immediately halt illegal immigration.

RELATED: Mexican President Attacks Trump After Tariffs: ‘America First Is a Fallacy’

Just a few days later, he backed off the threat, saying he was pleased with steps Mexico had taken in recent days.

Indeed, on a briefing call with reporters Thursday night, administration officials said Mexico could prevent the tariffs from kicking in by securing their southern border with Guatemala and entering into a “safe third country agreement” that would make it difficult for those who enter Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S.

“We’re going to judge success here by the number of people crossing the border and that number needs to start coming down immediately, in a significant and substantial number,” said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

He also insisted that tariffs were “completely” separate from the USMCA because one pertained to immigration and the other trade.

The threat drew a withering response from Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, a usual Trump ally, who slammed it as “a misuse of presidential tariff authority” that would burden American consumers and “seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA.”

Mulvaney said the White House had briefed a number of Republicans on the plan and acknowledged that some — particularly in the Senate — had raised concerns about the president invoking such powers.

The threat comes at a time when Mexico has been stepping up its efforts to crack down on migrants, carrying out raids and detaining thousands of people traveling through the country en route to the U.S.

The crumbling city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, has become the epicenter of the crackdowns, with thousands of migrants stranded because the Mexican government isn’t providing them visas to travel. In addition, the Mexican government has allowed the U.S. to send back hundreds of asylum seekers from Central America and other countries, forcing the people to wait out their cases in Mexico.

But that hasn’t satisfied Trump, whose administration laid out an escalating schedule of tariff increases if his demands are not met: 10% on July 1, 15% on Aug. 1, 20% on Sept. 1 and 25% on Oct. 1.

After that, the White House said, “tariffs will permanently remain at the 25% level unless and until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has suspended plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, tweeting that the country "has agreed to take strong measures" to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

"I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico," Trump tweeted Friday night, saying the "Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended."

He said Mexico has agreed to work to "stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border" and said those steps would "greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States."

He said details would be released soon by the State Department.

The tweet marked a change in tone from earlier Friday, when his spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters in Ireland before Trump took off: "Our position has not changed. The tariffs are going forward as of Monday." Trump has often said unpredictability helps him negotiate.

A tax on all Mexican goods , which would increase every month up to 25% under Trump's plan, would have had enormous economic implications for both countries. Americans bought $378 billion worth of Mexican imports last year, led by cars and auto parts. Many members of Trump's Republican Party and business allies have urged him to reconsider — or at least postpone actually implementing the tariffs as talks continue — citing the potential harm to American consumers and manufactures.

U.S. and Mexican officials held a third day of talks at the U.S. State Department trying to hash out a deal that would satisfy Trump's demand that Mexico dramatically increase its efforts to crack down on migrants.

The talks were said to be focused, in part, on attempting to reach a compromise on changes that would make it harder for migrants who pass through Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S., those monitoring the situation said. Mexico has opposed such a change but appeared open to considering a potential compromise that could include exceptions or waivers for different types of cases.

Trump has nonetheless embraced tariffs as a political tool he can use to force countries to comply with his demands — in this case on his signature issue of immigration. And he appeared poised earlier Friday to invoke an emergency declaration that would allow him to put the tariffs into effect if that is his final decision, according to people monitoring the talks.

"If negotiations continue to go well," Trump "can turn that off at some point over the weekend," Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, told reporters.

Talks had gotten off to a shaky start Wednesday, as the U.S. once again pressed Mexico to step up enforcement on its southern border with Guatemala and to enter into a "safe third country agreement" overhauling its asylum system. But as talks progressed Thursday, U.S. officials began to grow more optimistic, with Short reporting Mexican "receptivity" to potential asylum changes.

Still, he said there was "a long way to go in that particular piece."

In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would not say whether he would accept his country agreeing to be a "safe third country."

"That is being looked at," he said Friday morning during his daily news conference, where he held out hope a deal could be reached before Monday's deadline.

In addition, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Thursday his country had agreed to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops to its border with Guatemala to help control the flow of migrants as part of its concessions.

He tweeted late Friday that there would be no "tariff application on Monday."

"Thanks to all the people who have supported us by realizing the greatness of Mexico," he wrote.

Beyond Trump and several White House advisers, few in his administration believe the tariffs are a good idea, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations. Those people worry about the negative economic consequences for Americans and believe the tariffs — which would likely spark retaliatory taxes on U.S. exports — would also hurt the administration politically.

Republicans in Congress have warned the White House that they are ready to stand up to the president to try to block his tariffs, which they worry would spike costs to U.S. consumers, harm the economy and imperil a major pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal .

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Paul Wiseman, Lisa Mascaro, Darlene Superville and Padmananda Rama in Washington and Jonathan Lemire in Shannon, Ireland contributed to this report.

Grab the FREE WDTN News App for iPhone or Android. Stay up to date with all the local news, weather and sports as well as live newscasts and events as they happen.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all the latest news, weather and sports. </s> President Donald Trump says he has suspended plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, tweeting that the country "has agreed to take strong measures" to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

President Donald Trump says he has suspended plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, tweeting that the country "has agreed to take strong measures" to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

"I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico," he tweeted on Friday night, saying the tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the US on Monday "are hereby indefinitely suspended".

He said Mexico had agreed to work to "stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border" and said those steps would "greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States".

According to a joint declaration released by the State Department late on Friday, the US said it would work to expand a programme that returns asylum-seekers who cross the southern border to Mexico while their claims are adjudicated.

Mexico has also agreed to take "unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration", including the deployment of the Mexican National Guard throughout the country, especially on its southern border with Guatemala.

And the US said Mexico was also taking "decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organisations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks".

Mr Trump's decision marked a change in tone from earlier on Friday, when his spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters in Ireland before Mr Trump took off: "Our position has not changed. The tariffs are going forward as of Monday."

A tax on all Mexican goods, increasing every month up to 25% under Mr Trump's plan, would have had enormous economic implications for both countries.

Americans bought 378 billion US dollars (£297 billion) worth of Mexican imports last year, led by cars and auto parts.

Many members of Mr Trump's Republican Party and business allies had urged him to reconsider - or at least postpone actually implementing the tariffs as talks continued - citing the potential harm to American consumers and manufactures.

US and Mexican officials met for more than 10 hours on Friday during a third day of talks at the US State Department trying to hash out a deal that would satisfy Mr Trump's demand that Mexico dramatically increase its efforts to crack down on migrants.

The talks were said to be focused, in part, on attempting to reach a compromise on changes that would make it harder for migrants who pass through Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the US, those monitoring the situation said.

Mexico had opposed such a change but appeared open to considering a potential compromise that could include exceptions or waivers for different types of cases. </s> Jill Colvin, Matthew Lee and Luis Alonso Lugo, The Associated Press 

 



WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump has put on hold his plan to begin imposing tariffs on Mexico on Monday, saying the U.S. ally will take "strong measures" to reduce the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

But the deal he announced Friday night, after returning from a trip to Europe, falls short of some of the dramatic overhauls pushed for by his administration.

A joint declaration released by the State Department said the U.S. "will immediately expand" a program that returns asylum-seekers, while their claims are under review, to Mexico after they have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexico will "offer jobs, healthcare and education" to those people, according to the agreement.

Mexico has agreed, it said, to "unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration," including the deployment of the Mexican National Guard throughout the country, especially on its southern border with Guatemala.

Trump put the number of troops at 6,000, and said in a tweet Saturday, "Mexico will try very hard, and if they do that, this will be a very successful agreement for both the United States and Mexico!"

Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said on Twitter that "Thanks to the support of all Mexicans, the imposition of tariffs on Mexican products exported to the USA has been avoided." He called for a gathering Saturday to celebrate in Tijuana.

The State Department also said Mexico is taking "decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks."

The agreement removes, for now, the threat of trade penalties that had elicited dire warnings from members of Trump's own party about the potential economic damage, higher consumer prices and an imperiled update to a North American trade deal.

Mexico's foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, said he thought the deal struck "a fair balance" because the U.S. "had more drastic proposals and measures at the start."

But Leticia Calderon Cheluis, a migration expert at the Mora Institute in Mexico City, said the agreement is essentially a series of compromises solely by Mexico, which she said committed to "a double clamp at both borders."

Trump used social media to say he was "pleased to inform you" about the deal with Mexico and said the threatened tariffs "are hereby indefinitely suspended." He cited Mexico's commitment to "strong measures" intended "to greatly reduce, or eliminate" illegal immigration from Mexico.

It was a sharp reversal, given that earlier Friday, his spokeswoman Sarah Sanders had told reporters: "Our position has not changed. The tariffs are going forward as of Monday."

The U.S. had announced in December that it would make some asylum-seekers wait in Mexico while their cases were being processed. But this move has been plagued with glitches, including incorrect court dates, travel problems and issues with lawyers reaching their clients.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security were working to spread the program along the border before the latest blowup. About 10,000 people have been returned to Mexico to wait the processing of their immigration cases since the program began Jan. 29.

Any sizable increase may be difficult to achieve. At just the San Ysidro crossing in California, Mexico had been prepared to accept up to 120 asylum-seekers per week. But for the first six weeks, only 40 people per week were returned.

More than 100,000 migrants are currently crossing the U.S. border each month, but not everyone claims asylum and migrants can wait an entire year before making a claim.

Trump had threatened a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods entering the U.S. "until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP."

U.S. officials had laid out steps Mexico could take to prevent the tariffs, but many people had doubts that even those steps would be enough to satisfy Trump on illegal immigration, a signature issue of his presidency and one that he sees as crucial to his 2020 re-election campaign.

The 5% tax on all Mexican goods would have risen every month, up to 25% under Trump's plan, and had enormous economic implications for both countries.

Americans bought $378 billion worth of Mexican imports last year, led by cars and auto parts. Many members of Trump's Republican Party and business allies had urged him to reconsider -- or at least postpone the threatened tariffs as talks continued.

From the moment Trump announced his threat, observers wondered whether he would follow through. They noted his habit of creating problems and then claiming credit when he rushed in to solve them.

In late March, Trump threatened to shut the entire U.S.-Mexico border if Mexico didn't immediately halt illegal immigration. Just a few days later, he backed off that threat, saying he was pleased with steps Mexico had taken. It was unclear, however, what -- if anything -- Mexico had changed.

Talks in Washington had focused partly on changes that would make it harder for migrants who pass through Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S., according to those monitoring the situation. Mexico has opposed such a change but appeared open to considering a potential compromise that could include exceptions or waivers for different types of cases. The joint declaration, however, makes no mention of the issue

Trump has embraced tariffs as a political tool he can use to force countries to comply with his demands. Beyond Trump and several White House advisers, though, few in his administration had believed the tariffs were a good idea, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations. Those people had worried about the negative economic consequences for Americans and argued that tariffs, which probably would have drawn retaliatory taxes on U.S. exports, would also hurt the administration politically.

Republicans in Congress warned the White House that they were ready to stand up to the president to try to block his tariffs, which they worried would raise costs to U.S. consumers, harm the economy and imperil a major pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal .

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Colleen Long, Paul Wiseman, Lisa Mascaro, Darlene Superville and Padmananda Rama in Washington and Jonathan Lemire in Shannon, Ireland contributed to this report.
Mexico and the United States reach a deal on migration, suspending tariffs on Mexican imports into the U.S. which were to take effect on June 10. Mexico agreed to increase its enforcement efforts along their southern border with Guatemala, including deploying troops from their upcoming National Guard [es].