US President Donald Trump has “indefinitely suspended” the recently proposed tariff hike on Mexican imports after the two parties reached a signed agreement late last week.

On 30 May Trump outlined a plan to ramp-up tariffs on Mexican goods if illegal immigration was not checked. A 5% tariff was proposed on all Mexican imports from 10 June and duties of up to 25% were set to be added in the coming months if Mexico did not take action to “reduce or eliminate the number of illegal aliens” crossing into America.

The news met with resistance from US textile, apparel trade bodies who voiced their concerns in a letter to Trump that warned the move would hurt US workers and consumers.

The President took to Twitter to announce the suspension of the tariffs in a series of tweets, noting “the United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico.”

An official statement from the US Department of State followed, which said the US and Mexico met last week to address the “shared challenges of irregular migration.

“Given the dramatic increase in migrants moving from Central America through Mexico to the United States, both countries recognise 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.”

The resulting commitments include Mexico taking “unprecedented steps” to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration, and the expansion of the US’s implementation of Migrant Protection Protocols across its entire Southern Border – meaning those crossing to seek asylum will be rapidly returned to Mexico where they may await the adjudication of their asylum claims.

In response, Mexico will authorise 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.

Meanwhile, both parties also agreed that if these measures do not have the expected results, they will take further actions. 

In a tweet today (10 June), Trump said the US has inked another “very important part” of the Immigration and Security deal with Mexico – but warned if approval is not forthcoming, tariffs will be reinstated.

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