‘Not a single caravan has reached north’: Mexican President Sheinbaum pushes back on Trump’s tariff threat | World News

'Not a single caravan has reached north': Mexican President Sheinbaum pushes back on Trump's tariff threat
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s threat to double tariffs on Mexican goods over a migrant caravan travelling north, saying no such group has reached the US border since he returned to office in January 2025.“Not a single migrant caravan has reached the north” since January 2025, Sheinbaum said during her daily news briefing on Thursday, responding to Trump’s demand that Mexico stop migrants from travelling through its territory.Trump had threatened to immediately double tariffs on Mexican imports if the government failed to halt a group of around 1,500 migrants, mostly from Central America, who began travelling from Tapachula in southern Mexico on Tuesday.Sheinbaum said a separate group of around 600 migrants moving through the southern state of Chiapas had largely dispersed after being informed that reaching the United States would be “very difficult”.Mexican authorities were also in discussions with several hundred Honduran migrants, encouraging them to return to their home country, she said.The Mexican president ruled out using force to break up the groups, saying authorities had extensive experience accompanying migrants and explaining the difficulties they would face in attempting to reach the US.Trump’s tariff warning comes as Washington and Mexico City continue negotiations over trade duties imposed on Mexican products. The discussions are also taking place alongside a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which began in July.Mexico is seeking substantial reductions in the 10% tariffs imposed on goods that are not covered by the trade agreement, as well as the 25% duties on medium- and heavy-duty trucks.Negotiations also cover US tariffs of 50% on steel and aluminium imports and a 17% countervailing duty on Mexican tomatoes.

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