Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

14 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

15 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

1 day ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
White House Says Tariffs 'Going Forward' as Talks Continue
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
June 7, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Mexico are set to take effect Monday as planned, the White House said Friday, even as negotiators continued to meet to try to stave off his latest push to force the U.S. ally to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.

“Our position has not changed. The tariffs are going forward as of Monday.” — White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders
“Our position has not changed,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters in Ireland before Trump headed back to Washington from his European trip. “The tariffs are going forward as of Monday.”
Talks resumed meanwhile at the State Department, and Trump has received regular updates from Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his trip to Europe. Sanders said officials had “made a lot of progress” but not enough.
The initial 5% tax on all Mexican goods, which would increase every month up to 25%, could ultimately have 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 manufacturers.
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.
White House officials appeared to deliver mixed messages as they awaited Trump’s return to the White House. Economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Trump could delay the tariffs, while Marc Short, Pence’s chief of staff, stressed that “there’s still a long way to go.”
Photo of Mike Pence
Vice President Mike Pence speaks at JLS Automation in York, Pa., Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Mexico Offered Small, Undisclosed Concessions

“When the president lands, they’re going to present him with, basically, the state of affairs and then the president’s going to make a judgment about next steps,” Hassett told Fox Business Network. He cited “a lot of positive movement” in recent days.
Either way, Trump appears poised to invoke an emergency declaration that would allow him to put the tariffs into effect, according to people monitoring the talks.
“You should anticipate that happening today,” Short told reporters, adding that, “if negotiations continue to go well,” Trump “can turn that off at some point over the weekend.”
During the first round of talks Wednesday, the gulf between the countries was clear. Mexico offered small and so far undisclosed concessions; the U.S. demanded major action. The U.S. once again pressed Mexico to step up enforcement on its southern border and to enter 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. Mexico has long resisted that request.
Trump officials have said Mexico can prevent the tariffs by securing its southern border with Guatemala, cracking down on criminal smuggling organizations and overhauling its asylum system. But the U.S. has not proposed concrete benchmarks to assess whether Mexico is complying, and it is unclear whether even those steps would be enough to satisfy Trump on illegal immigration, an issue he sees as crucial to his 2020 re-election campaign.
In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would not say whether he would accept his country agreeing to be a “safe third country.” But unlike on previous occasions, he didn’t rule it out.

Republicans in Congress Ready to Stand up to President

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

“There is time. … It is still Friday. I am optimistic that an agreement will be reached.” — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador
“There is time. … It is still Friday. I am optimistic that an agreement will be reached,” he said.
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.
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. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions of migrants illegally crossing the border hit the highest level in more than a decade in May: 132,887 apprehensions, including a record 84,542 adults and children traveling together and 11,507 children traveling alone.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

UP NEXT

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

UP NEXT

US-Backed 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire Envisions Gradual Return of Hostages, Official Says

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

US Paves Way to Resume Ethane Exports to China Amid Trade Truce

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

14 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

14 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

14 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

14 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

14 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

14 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

14 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

15 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

15 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

15 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

13 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
13 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

13 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
14 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
14 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
14 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend