Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebard on Monday highlighted the actions Mexico is taking to deal with the stream of migrants crossing into his country from Guatemala. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo Immigration Mexico: Trump's tariffs could worsen Central American immigration problem

President Donald Trump’s plan to slap tariffs on Mexican goods will hurt both countries and weaken Mexico’s ability to help stop the flow of Central American immigrants seeking entry into the United States, top Mexican officials said Monday.

“The tariffs could be very costly for the U.S. economy, the consumers in the United States and the Mexican economy,” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters during an early morning press conference at the Mexican Embassy.


Trump's plan could also "cause financial and economic instability, which means that Mexico could reduce its capacity to address migration flows and to offer alternatives to the new migrants who have recently arrived in the country," Ebrard added.

Frustrated by his failure to make more progress on a key 2016 campaign issue heading into his 2020 reelection race, Trump plans to impose a 5 percent duty on all Mexican goods beginning next week to pressure Mexico into doing more to stop the flow of Central American immigrants reaching the southern U.S. border.

To increase the pressure on Mexico City to satisfy his demands, Trump also intends to ratchet the duty gradually up to 25 percent by Oct. 1.

Ebrard stressed Mexico's willingness to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with the United States.

He also highlighted the actions Mexico is already taking to deal with the stream of migrants crossing into its territory from the Northern Triangle region of Central America. Since December, Mexico has returned more than 80,000 migrants to their countries of origin, mainly in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Ebrard said.

It also is on track this year to grant asylum to another 60,000 migrants, which would be a substantial increase over 2018, and is currently housing more than 27,600 migrants who are waiting for an asylum hearing in the United States, Ebrard said.

Ebrard argued for a cooperative solution with the United States and other international partners to address the root causes of migration out of Central America, referring to high rates of gang violence and a lack of jobs in the region.

“We believe our countries can reach a deal on how to face a matter on which our approaches are different," Ebrard said, speaking through a translator. But "there is a clear limit to what we can negotiate and that is our Mexican dignity."

He rejected the possibility that Mexico would assent to a “safe third country” asylum pact with the U.S. Under such an agreement, migrants would be required to seek asylum in Mexico if they passed through that country en route to the United States. The U.S. and Canada struck a similar agreement in 2002.

An asylum deal along those lines “would not be acceptable” to Mexico, Ebrard said, echoing previous statements from the administration of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Ebrard and other Mexican officials rushed to Washington on Friday and over the weekend after Trump announced his plan. Meetings with U.S. officials are expected to continue over the next several days, leading to a summit at the White House on Wednesday with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Mexico’s Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez Colín said the nation may turn to multilateral organizations to help stop the tariffs. She added that the López Obrador administration would take a “strategic approach” and didn’t want to employ retaliatory tariffs that would hurt job creation and investment.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters after talks Monday morning with Mexican Agriculture Secretary Víctor Manuel Villalobos that he was "hopeful" the two sides could reach a deal to prevent Trump's tariffs from going into effect.

A letter that López Obrador sent last week in response to Trump's tariff announcement "was very measured, very reasonable," Perdue said. "The focus of our conversation was what can Mexico do to forestall the implementation of the tariffs."

The United States imported nearly $350 billion worth of goods from Mexico last year. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates a 5 percent tariff would impose a $17 billion tax on American businesses and consumers, while a 25 percent tariff would increase that to $86 billion.

In addition, the integrated nature of North American supply chains could "compound" the price impact of any tariff since some parts cross the U.S.-Mexico border several times before a final good is produced, Mexico's Deputy Foreign Minister for North America Jesús Seade said.

"If you do this, you weaken both economies," Seade said. "It will certainly weaken the Mexican economy and where is the interest of the United States economy in having a weakened neighbor?"

Seade also called Trump's tariff plan an "enormous distraction" from efforts in all three countries to pass the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to replace the 25-year-old NAFTA.

Instead of fighting over immigration, the two countries should be working together with Canada to implement the USMCA, he said.

Ted Hesson and Catherine Boudreau contributed to this report.

