Trump Threatens to Double Mexico Tariffs Over Migrant Caravans

US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday (Nov 12) to double tariffs on goods from Mexico unless it stops migrant caravans moving through the country, prompting Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to reply that none had reached the US border, the Associated Press reported.

In a social media post, Trump said Mexico must stop the caravans or “the Tariffs on Mexico will be IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED”, Bloomberg reported, describing the move as ratcheting up trade tensions with a major economic partner.

Trump did not say which tariffs he would double, whether current exemptions would remain, or when any new duties could take effect, freight firm Kesco Logistics said in its weekly report.

Sheinbaum responds

“Not a single migrant caravan has reached the north” since January 2025, Sheinbaum told her daily news briefing, according to AP.

She said a caravan of about 600 migrants travelling through the southern state of Chiapas had largely dispersed, and authorities were in talks with another group of several hundred Honduran migrants, encouraging them to return home. Sheinbaum ruled out using force to break up the caravans, AP reported.

Tariffs under negotiation

The threat comes as Mexico and the United States negotiate to reduce or eliminate duties Washington imposed on several Mexican products last year, alongside a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that began in July, according to AP.

Mexico is seeking significant cuts to the 10% tariffs on Mexican goods not covered by the trade agreement and the 25% duty on medium and heavy-duty trucks, AP said. The talks have also addressed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium and a 17% countervailing duty on Mexican tomatoes.

Separately, Canada’s ambassador to the US, speaking at the B20 summit in Washington on Nov 11, said tariffs were making the US a more expensive place to do business, CNBC reported.

What’s next

Sheinbaum’s government hopes to reach a deal before the end of the year, La Opinion reported, as cited by 2paragraphs. Democrats have pledged to challenge Trump’s trade policies when the new Congress convenes in January, Newsweek reported.

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