The President of the United States, Donald Trump, agreed with the Mexican government to pause the imposition of tariffs as a measure to avoid a trade war that was scheduled to begin. As part of this agreement, Trump committed to work on preventing the smuggling of arms into Mexico, an issue highlighted by previous presidents, such as Ernesto Zedillo, 25 years ago.
The agreed extension has a deadline of one month and the creation of a working group at the state secretary level was established to reach a definitive agreement. The Head of Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, tried to negotiate with Trump for the pause to be permanent, but this request was not considered by the U.S. president.
Sheinbaum, despite her initial attempts, ended up accepting the terms of the pause in tariff imposition and requested the presence of the Secretary of Defense, General Ricardo Trevilla, to deploy military personnel at the northern border as agreed. The sequence of events revealed a lack of understanding on the part of the Mexican government regarding the true motivations behind the threat of tariffs.
Both Republicans and Democrats in the United States share concerns about the control of drug cartels in Mexican territory, which influenced Trump's stance. The strategy used by the U.S. president involved a negotiation approach based on coercion and unprecedented accusations against the Mexican government.
The importance of fully understanding Trump's demands and expectations becomes crucial to avoid negative consequences in future negotiations. The one-month period agreed for the pause in tariffs poses a challenge in terms of achieving effective results in a short time.
