Sputnik reports that several Mexican officials are currently in Washington, with meetings with a number of US officials scheduled for this week. Sources familiar with the talks say this is Mexico’s behind-the-scenes channel of sending a message to the White House.
While Mexico has officially taken a friendly posture seeking to avert direct conflict with the US, Mexican officials behind the scenes have sent messages to the Trump administration that Mexico is prepared to fight with the trade tariffs Washington has threatened to impose.
During the weekend, the Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard met with US State Department officials in Washington to attempt to find a way around a tariff war between the two Northern American nations. According to NPR, the meeting is part of a "public push" led by Mexican officials to warn Washington of the "disastrous consequences" if Trump goes through with threats to impose compounded 5% tariffs on imports from Mexico.
"They're going to have to delicately balance inflaming tensions even further, as this could be horrific for both countries, but particularly the Mexican economy," an unnamed former White House official said in an interview. "But you can't just roll over and play dead if you're verbally attacked like this by a foreign government's president. That doesn't play well, domestically."