U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio received Mexican Chancellor Roberto Velasco this Wednesday in Washington. The meeting, which coincided with negotiations on a trade pact to prevent further tariffs, took place in a cordial atmosphere and was held behind closed doors. The two diplomatic heads posed smiling before the cameras minutes before the meeting began, although they did not answer press questions about the current tariff war between the U.S. and Canada, which calls into question the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed in 2018.
Previous meetings and agenda topics
Roberto Velasco arrived in Washington after a two‑day visit to South Korea, where he held several meetings on priority topics of the bilateral agenda. According to Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, the chancellor also met with the Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Jacob Helberg, to discuss collaboration opportunities in innovation, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and supply chains.
In another meeting, Velasco spoke with the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Troy Edgar, emphasizing the importance of cases related to the deaths of Mexican nationals, following the controversial July death of an immigrant shot by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The officials also discussed bilateral cooperation to manage migration flows.
Commercial and diplomatic context
The meeting comes a day after the U.S. announced the handover to Mexico of ten individuals sought by authorities for serious crimes. Meanwhile, Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard was in Washington to negotiate a pact that prevents the implementation of new tariffs.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that she remains optimistic that an agreement can be reached this very week. The dialogue between the two countries takes place amid an escalating tension with Canada, which has imposed 50 % tariffs on Canadian products worth $20 billion, and has announced equivalent retaliations starting September 8.
Source credits: robertocavada.com
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