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TRUMP CONTRADICTS AIDES ON KEY OUTCOME FROM MEXICAN TARIFF PLAN
By Steven T. Dennis and Ben Brody
June 2, 2019, 4:11 PM EDT

President Donald Trump contradicted two of his top aides, saying Sunday that “companies and jobs” returning to the U.S. would be a key outcome from his decision to impose import tariffs on goods coming from Mexico -- a move made in the name of border security.

Earlier, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” said the tariff plan was “an immigration matter, it’s not a trade matter.”

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, interviewed on Fox News Channel’s “Justice” on Saturday, was asked directly whether the tariffs were in fact a “maneuver” to bring auto manufacturing back to the U.S., which has long been a goal of Trump’s.

“Zero, no. That’s not the purpose of this,” Navarro said. “This is a national security response.”

As various Mexican officials prepare for talks in the U.S. this week about the proposal to impose escalating import tariffs, Trump, who leaves Sunday night for the U.K., dismissed their efforts in advance.

“They’ve been ‘talking’ for 25 years. We want action, not talk,” the president said on Twitter.

Trump said on May 30 he’d place an initial 5% levy on Mexican goods this month, with the tariffs rising each month -- to as much as 25% by October -- if the nation doesn’t halt the flow of undocumented migrants to the U.S.

Sunday’s comments came ahead of planned high-level meetings in Washington this week to discuss the border situation. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is expected to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and other officials to attempt to defuse the trade spat.
-bloomberg.com
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-02/trump-s-mexican-tariffs-not-a-trade-matter-mulvaney-says?srnd=premium