WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mexican and U.S. officials are set to resume talks in Washington on Thursday aimed at heading off punitive tariffs on Mexican goods after President Donald Trump said more needed to be done to curb migration at the southern U.S. border.
The two sides met on Wednesday for discussions led by Vice President Mike Pence in an effort to strike a deal that would satisfy the U.S. president, who has called for the imposition of tariffs from Monday.
“Immigration discussions at the White House with representatives of Mexico have ended for the day. Progress is being made, but not nearly enough!” Trump, traveling in Europe to mark the 75 anniversary of D-Day, tweeted late on Wednesday.
Pence told reporters the U.S. State Department would lead talks on Thursday, but gave no further details.
Mexican officials, meanwhile, appear to have ramped up efforts to halt the flow of Central American migrants crossing the border to the United States, with Mexican soldiers, armed police and migration officials blocking migrants here along its own southern border with Guatemala.
It was unclear whether the hardening of Mexico’s response would appease Trump, who is struggling to make good on his key 2016 presidential campaign promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of a hard-line immigration stance.
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