MEXICO/NAFTA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In walking back his threat to close the US-Mexico border, President Donald Trump said Friday [4-5-19] he would override his pending US-Mexico-Canada Agreement to impose a 25% tariff on cars made south of the border if Mexico doesn’t help stem the flow of undocumented immigrants into the United States. After making a threat to close the border this week, Trump moved the goal posts on Thursday [4-4-19], saying he would give Mexico a year to step up. On Friday he backpedaled, tweeting that Mexico is ‘for the first time in decades’ apprehending illegal immigrants before crossing the border…The statement could undermine the ratification of the trade deal, which is meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump has called the original pact one of the worst deals he’s ever seen, and has touted the USCMA as a shining achievement of his administration. It would keep vehicles made within North America free from tariffs, as long as most of its parts were made inside the three countries and by workers earning at least $16 an hour.”
–Katie Lobosco, “Trump’s threat to override new NAFTA with tariff on Mexican cars could undermine ratification,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 5, 2019 6:08 pm