<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><i class="">Two articles below…</i><br class=""><div class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><b class=""><span style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">Mexican president: Trump’s tariffs won’t stop USMCA</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""></b><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br class=""></span></span></div><div class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">By Sabrina Rodriguez, </span><span style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">Politico Pro</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">05/31/2019</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday Mexico will continue to push to ratify the new North American trade pact despite President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico to press for further crackdown on illegal immigration.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">“This does not stop the process that was already started to ratify the deal. We’re going to continue,” López Obrador said in his daily morning news conference.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">“It’s the executive’s opinion that we continue the ratification process of the deal, that we meet the commitments we made and we end up approving it soon,” López Obrador added.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">On Thursday, Mexican officials submitted the required texts to begin the process of ratifying the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in Mexico’s Senate, one day after Canada launched its respective process in its House of Commons.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">The Trump administration shortly after submitted<</span><a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503" style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503</a><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">> a draft statement to Congress, putting the legislative body on notice that the pact could be coming soon.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">But shortly after, Trump announced<</span><a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503" style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/30/trump-mexico-tariffs-immigration-1348503</a><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">> in two tweets that he would slap a sweeping 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods until Mexico stops the flow of illegal immigration to the United States, beginning June 10. And that tariff will increase regularly by 5 percentage points until it reaches 25 percent on Oct. 1 if Mexico doesn't stem the flow of immigrants into the United States.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">Trump’s decision could derail his administration’s hopes of getting the replacement deal for NAFTA passed in Congress.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had been adamant that Trump needed to lift his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico and Canada or else USMCA would be dead otherwise. And the Trump administration recently lifted those tariffs, building a lot of good will for the ratification process in Mexico and Canada.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley<</span><a href="https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51187" style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51187</a><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">> (R-Iowa), who was integral to removing the steel and aluminum tariffs, was quick to criticize Trump’s move Thursday night as a “misuse of presidential tariff authority.”</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">"Following through on this threat would seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA," Grassley said.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">López Obrador expressed hope that Trump will reconsider the measures. The two countries, he added, should push for more dialogue to address the influx of Central American migrants to the United States.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">“Social problems are not resolved with duties and coercive measures,” López Obrador said in a letter to Trump Thursday night.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">López Obrador also specified that Mexico doesn't plan on imposing retaliatory tariffs for now.</span><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><br style="orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">“I don’t believe in ‘an eye for an eye’ because, if we go that way, we’d all be left toothless and one-eyed,” López Obrador said.</span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Grassley slams Trump tariffs on Mexico: ‘A misuse of presidential tariff authority’<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">By Niv Elis<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""> </span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/446278-grassley-slams-trump-tariffs-on-mexico" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/446278-grassley-slams-trump-tariffs-on-mexico</a><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">05/30/2019<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""> </span></div><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Senate Finance Committee Chairman </span><span class="rollover-people"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class=""><a href="https://thehill.com/people/chuck-grassley" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Chuck Grassley</span></a></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class=""> (R-Iowa) condemned </span><span class="rollover-people"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class=""><a href="https://thehill.com/people/donald-trump" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">President Trump</span></a></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">'s new tariffs on Mexico late Thursday, calling the move a "misuse" of presidential tariff authority and cautioning the levies could derail passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">"Trade policy and border security are separate issues. This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent," Grassley said in a statement.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">The lawmaker cautioned that following through on Trump's tariff threat "would seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA," a revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">"I support nearly every one of President Trump’s immigration policies, but this is not one of them," he added.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Trump <a href="https://thehill.com/latino/446269-trump-announces-5-percent-tariff-on-imports-from-mexico-starting-june-10" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">announced he would</span></a> impose the tariffs to pressure Mexico to stop the flow of migrants into the U.S. via the southern border.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">"On June 10th, 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. The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied," he tweeted late Thursday. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">The tariff will increase by 5 percent each month until it reaches 25 percent “unless and until Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory,” the president said a statement distributed by the White House.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">The move could rattle financial markets at a precarious time for the president’s trade policy, as the White House pressures Congress to approve Trump’s revision of NAFTA.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Dow futures <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/446272-dow-plummets-after-trump-announces-new-mexico-tariffs" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">plummeted</span></a> more than 200 points on Thursday evening after the president announced the new tariffs.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Grassley had previously <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/trade/441127-grassley-to-trump-lift-tariffs-or-new-nafta-deal-is-dead" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">threatened to derail</span></a> Trump's central trade achievement over continued steel and aluminum tariffs. Last week, Trump hinted that he had reached a deal to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/444287-trump-reaches-deal-to-lift-steel-aluminum-tariffs-on-mexico-canada" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">drop those tariffs</span></a>, paving the way for the USMCA in the Senate.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Even with Grassley's approval, Trump will face a hurdle passing the agreement in the House, where Speaker </span><span class="rollover-people"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class=""><a href="https://thehill.com/people/nancy-pelosi" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Nancy Pelosi</span></a></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class=""> (D-Calif.) has insisted on labor and enforcement improvements to the deal.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Earlier Thursday, Trump <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/446228-white-house-to-start-clock-on-approval-for-new-nafta-reports" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class=""><span style="color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">formally kicked off</span></a> the approval process for the deal, setting off a timeline for its passage in Congress.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 0in; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; color: rgb(43, 44, 48);" class="">Pelosi derided the decision, meant to pressure Congress to pass the deal, saying it “indicates a lack of knowledge on the part of the administration on the policy and process to pass a trade agreement.”</span></p><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class="">Arthur Stamoulis</div><div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class="">Citizens Trade Campaign</div><div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class="">(202) 494-8826</div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></body></html>