Trump says pact reached with Mexico to avoid tariffs

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. and Mexico have reached an agreement that will avoid Washington's imposition of 5% import duties on all goods imported from Mexico, President Donald Trump said Friday after he threatened the penalties over the inflow of undocumented migrants.

"The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended," the president proclaimed on Twitter. "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."

Trump did not offer specifics on the agreement, but the State Department later released a joint declaration from the countries that includes a series of further steps the U.S. and Mexico will take to stem the flow of undocumented immigration from Central America to the U.S.

Trump announced the tariffs on imports of Mexican goods last week, warning the punitive measures -- meant to force Mexico City to take unspecified actions on illegal immigration -- would begin to take effect June 10 and would rise 5% at the start of each successive month until they hit 25% in October "if the crisis persists".

The president has pursued a hardline approach to migration, both legal and illegal, since coming to office and has particularly singled out Mexico for what he says is a lack of action to stem migrant flows from Central America, where people are fleeing destitute conditions including rampant poverty and gang violence in the hopes of securing safety or asylum in the U.S.

But his tariff threat had placed him at odds with not only the U.S.'s southern neighbor but with Republican lawmakers, including immigration hardliners, who are wary of the effects the levies will have on their local economies.

They warned Trump they would work to block the tariffs should they go into effect.

In their joint declaration, the U.S. and Mexico said they "commit to strengthen bilateral cooperation, including information sharing and coordinated actions to better protect and secure our common border".

Per the terms of the agreement, Mexico is to deploy its National Guard throughout the country with particular emphasis on its southern border, and the U.S. said it will speed up the judicial process of asylum claims for individuals who are sent back to Mexico to wait for the proceedings to be concluded.

It further said "Mexico is also taking decisive action to dismantle human smuggling and trafficking organizations as well as their illicit financial and transportation networks," but the phrasing leaves ambiguous whether that includes any additional steps Mexico will take to crack down on the trafficking networks.

The countries further pledged to take unspecified "further actions" should the measures not have the intended effects and said they would reach "additional understandings to address irregular migrant flows and asylum issues" within 90 days if needed.