Trump imposes tariffs on all Mexican imports in bid to crack down on immigration

‘The United States will impose tariffs on all goods coming into our country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants stop’

Donald Trump has announced he will place tariffs on all Mexican imports in a latest attempt to address a “border crisis” and crack down on illegal immigration.

A 5 per cent tariff will come into effect from 10 June and gradually increase up to 25 per cent “until the illegal immigration problem is remedied”, the US president said.

The move, aimed at controlling a wave of tens of thousands of asylum seekers, including many Central American families fleeing poverty and violence, risks devastating economic relations with the country’s biggest trade partner for goods.

“The United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our country, STOP,” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter.

The decision is a direct challenge to Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

“If the illegal migration crisis is alleviated through effective actions taken by Mexico, to be determined in our sole discretion and judgment, the tariffs will be removed,” Mr Trump later added in a statement.

Mr Obrador responded in a public letter saying “social problems are not solved with duties or coercive measures”. He also alluded to the United States’ history as a nation of immigrants. “The Statue of Liberty is not an empty symbol,” he wrote.

The legislation may threaten the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade deal that is currently is in the process of being updated.

“Many congressmen and senators in Mexico are going to be asking themselves whether or not they’re in a position to ratify an agreement when they have a gun pointed to their heads. So it just becomes a very complicated situation,” Juan Carlos Hartasanchez, senior director at advisory firm Albright Stonebridge Group, told CNBC.

In February, Mr Trump declared the situation on the southern border of the United States to be a national emergency, citing an “invasion” of drugs, gangs and people crossing into the country.

During his election campaign and time in office, Mr Trump has sought funds to build a wall on the border, a campaign that has been popular with his supporters.

Many experts have criticised the announcement. “The drama is legal, but it’s preposterous,” Gary Hufbauer, an expert in trade law at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said.

Others have suggested Mr Trump may be posturing to appeal to his voter base. “This seems more theatre and tactics than a strategy to solve the migration crisis and rebalance North American trade,” Daniel Ujczo, a US-based international trade lawyer, said.

The announcement also comes amid growing calls for the president’s impeachment, following FBI special counsel Robert Mueller‘s surprise statement on Wednesday in which he suggested only Justice Department policy prevented his team from charging a sitting president with a crime.