Washington DC [US], August 1 : The US President held a conversation with his Mexican counterpart, where the two leaders discussed the goal of signing a trade deal. Trump said that Mexico would continue to pay tariffs on fentanyl, cars, among other items and would immediately terminate its non-tariff trade barriers.
Speaking about the remarks during the White House Press briefing, Karoline Leavitt said, "Mexico is a very unique situation... because we share our southern border. We've seen an increase in cooperation between Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, and our administration on clamping down on drug trafficking and human trafficking at the southern border. We appreciate those efforts and will continue to work in good faith and continue to have these trade discussions".
Her remarks followed after the US President had written in a post on Truth Social of concluding a telephone conversation with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, "which was very successful".
He added, "The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different from other Nations because of both the problems and assets of the Border. We have agreed to extend, for a 90-day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, a 25% Tariff on Cars, and a 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminium, and Copper. Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non-Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many. We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 Days with the goal of signing a Trade Deal somewhere within the 90-day period of time, or longer."
Trump mentioned in his statement that present at the meeting were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, United States Trade Representative and Ambassador Jamieson Greer, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, and United States Homeland Security Advisor, Stephen Miller.
He also said that there would be continued cooperation on the US-Mexico border as it relates to all aspects of "Security, including Drugs, Drug Distribution, and Illegal Immigration into the United States".