MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pushed back forcefully Thursday against US President Donald Trump's threat to double tariffs on Mexican exports, declaring that not a single migrant caravan has reached the American border since he re-entered the White House in January 2025.
The standoff ignited after Trump demanded Mexico immediately halt an estimated 1,500 migrants who departed Tapachula in southern Mexico on Tuesday. Sheinbaum stood firm. Addressing reporters during her morning briefing, the Mexican leader flatly dismissed Washington's claims that border enforcement had broken down.
Not a single migrant caravan has reached the north.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum
Sheinbaum ruled out deploying militarised force to crush the procession, arguing that Mexican authorities rely on seasoned dialogue and ground monitoring rather than batons. Persuasion works. She noted that a separate group of roughly 600 migrants moving across the southern state of Chiapas had already broken apart after immigration officers explained that entering the United States was nearly impossible. Mexican migration officials are also holding structured talks with several hundred Honduran nationals to coordinate voluntary repatriation.
The border issue remains raw. Yet Mexico City insists containment through dialogue is holding the line. Instead of staging mass roundups, federal teams accompany moving groups along southern transit corridors, warning participants about razor wire, detention camps, and swift deportations awaiting them thousands of miles north.
Trump's tariff ultimatum injects fresh volatility into bilateral commerce at a critical juncture. Trade teams from Washington and Mexico City are already locked in high-stakes negotiations over punitive levies across manufacturing and agriculture. The friction unfolds against the backdrop of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) joint review, which formally got underway in July.
Mexico is aggressively lobbying Washington to roll back blanket 10% duties applied to goods outside the USMCA framework, alongside a 25% tariff hammering medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks. Industrial metals and fresh produce remain major flashpoints.
| Trade Sector / Product | US Tariff / Duty Rate | Current Bilateral Status |
|---|---|---|
| Non-USMCA Goods | 10% | Mexico demanding substantial reductions |
| Medium- & Heavy-Duty Trucks | 25% | Subject to bilateral renegotiation |
| Steel & Aluminium Imports | 50% | Under active USMCA trade review |
| Fresh Mexican Tomatoes | 17% Countervailing Duty | Contested by Mexican agricultural exporters |
Bilateral trade talks and USMCA review sessions will proceed in the coming weeks as both administrations determine whether southern enforcement measures are enough to avert an immediate tariff escalation.