Trump touts deal with Mexico to avert tariffs

US President Donald Trump touted Saturday his last-minute deal averting tariffs on Mexico, a plan economists warned would have been disastrous for both countries, saying the agreement will be a big success if America's southern neighbor cracks down on illegal immigration as promised.

With Trump poised to slap five percent tariffs on all Mexican goods starting Monday, senior officials announced an agreement late Friday night.

Under the deal, Mexico agreed to expand its policy of taking back migrants, most of them from violence-riven Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, as the United States processes their asylum claims.

Mexico will also use its newly created National Guard to crack down on illegal migration, in particular along its southern border with Guatemala, a gateway for poor Central Americans hoping to reach the US.

In turn, Mexico managed to avoid a proposal it had continually rejected -- that it process asylum claims on its own soil before migrants reach the United States.

"Mexico will try very hard, and if they do that, this will be a very successful agreement for both the United States and Mexico!" Trump tweeted early Saturday.

Later, he added: "Everyone very excited about the new deal with Mexico!"
"People will keep leaving. This is not going to stop them." Trump, she insisted, "is pressing Mexico but he should be pressing the governments of Honduras and El Salvador, who do nothing for their people."
"In this agreement, the migrants are currency," he said. "The National Guard should be combatting drug traffickers, not focusing on stopping children and women who are trying to fulfill their dreams."
Mexico pledged in Friday's agreement to take "unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration," saying the two governments would "work together to immediately implement a durable solution."