The U.S. and Mexico failed to reach an agreement Wednesday to avert tariffs after a meeting between officials of the two countries.
President Trump said progress is being made, but if no agreement is reached, 5% tariffs on Mexican goods will be instituted Monday.
"The higher the Tariffs go, the higher the number of companies that will move back to the USA!" he tweeted.
....talks with Mexico will resume tomorrow with the understanding that, if no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule. The higher the Tariffs go, the higher the number of companies that will move back to the USA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2019
The talks held at the White House were an attempt to reach a deal over the impending tariffs, which would increase an additional 5% each month until Mexico addresses illegal immigration at the U.S. border.
The news comes the day after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he believed a deal to be close that would end the administration's threat to impose tariffs on Mexico in response to illegal immigration. Trump has said he wants Mexico to stop the flow of immigrants from Central America through the country and to the U.S. border.
Speaking from Ireland on Wednesday, Trump expressed confidence that Mexico would beef up its immigration policies in order to prevent the economic squeeze the tariffs would entail.
“Mexico can stop it. They have to stop it. Otherwise, we just won’t be able to do business. It’s a very simple thing,” Trump said Wednesday. “And I think they will stop it. I think they want to do something. I think they want to make a deal. And they sent their top people to try.”