Rex Tillerson visits Mexico as bilateral ties hit their lowest point in years
Source: Washington Post
By Joshua Partlow January 31 at 4:18 PM
MEXICO CITY — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson kicks off a Latin American swing on Thursday at a time of precarious relations with the United States’ southern neighbor, with Mexicans offended by the Trump administration’s positions on immigration and trade and the country’s diplomats on an all-out offensive to preserve NAFTA.
The first year of the Trump administration has brought little clarity to the most contentious issues in the bilateral relationship. Several of Trump’s key campaign promises still hang over Mexico like a dangling sword — to revise or potentially cancel NAFTA, to build a new border wall, to deport large numbers of unauthorized immigrants.
The relationship is crucial to both sides. Mexico is the No. 3 trading partner of the United States, while the United States is Mexico’s largest partner, the destination for about 80 percent of its exports. The two countries have a vast web of ties on issues such as security to immigration. But uncertainties loom, from Trump’s policies and the possibility that a less-accommodating Mexican leader might emerge from the July presidential election here.
“What has been a good relationship between the two countries right now is fragile and delicate,” said Francisco Gil Villegas, a professor of international relations at the College of Mexico. “On the government level, they have avoided a crisis. On the citizen level, there is a lot of anger.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/rex-tillerson-visits-mexico-as-bilateral-ties-hit-their-lowest-point-in-years/2018/01/31/dcb5c8a4-05ed-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html?utm_term=.55b988d509ae
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