Trump threatens to double Mexico tariffs over migrant caravans

US President Donald Trump has threatened to double tariffs on Mexican goods if Mexico does not stop migrant caravans travelling north, using the prospect of higher import duties to press its government to act.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump said Mexico must stop the groups “now” or the tariffs would be “immediately doubled”. He described their movement as an “invasion” and linked it to Republican losses in the US midterm elections.

Reuters reported that an estimated 1,500 migrants, mostly from Central America, had left the southern Mexican city of Tapachula on Tuesday. Some hoped Democratic gains in the election could improve their prospects of living and working in the US. The presence of a group in southern Mexico does not, by itself, establish a post-election surge at the US border.

Mexico had already tried to stop a separate group of around 100 migrants at its southern border on Tuesday, AFP reported. The agency said a larger caravan of about 1,000 had entered Mexico from Guatemala two days earlier without encountering resistance.

Trump did not specify which goods or tariff rates would be affected, or give Mexico a deadline beyond calling for immediate action. ANP and Bloomberg reported that his legal authority to double the duties was unclear after the US Supreme Court limited his tariff powers earlier this year.

The threat comes as the US and Mexico negotiate a trade deal, Reuters reported. The news agency said there was no immediate response from Mexican officials.