President Donald Trump criticized Guatemala via Twitter for opting not to sign the planned Safe Third Country agreement with the U.S., claiming that the Central American nation “has not been good.” The deal would have forced Guatemala to handle asylum claims from immigrants on their way north to prevent them from reaching the United States. Trump even boasted about his earlier paradoxical (and misguided) decision to cut federal aid to Guatemala.
“Guatemala, which has been forming Caravans and sending large numbers of people, some with criminal records, to the United States, has decided to break the deal they had with us on signing a necessary Safe Third Agreement,” the president wrote. “We were ready to go. Now we are looking at the ‘BAN’, Tariffs, Remittance Fees, or all of the above. Guatemala has not been good. Big U.S. taxpayer dollars going to them was cut off by me 9 months ago.”
It is not clear how Trump’s retaliations would come into effect, though; considering Guatemala is part of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement—which removed most tariffs and trade barriers between the U.S. and several Central American countries. Trump is famous for ignoring trade agreements for political gain, however, as his entire presidency and reelection campaign is predicated on his ongoing rhetoric against immigration in America.
President Jimmy Morales was expected to meet Trump to sign the deal during an upcoming summit between the two countries, but Guatemala’s constitutional court blocked the negotiations from progressing any further, citing worries about the country’s readiness to handle waves of immigrants indefinitely.
It’s a difficult position for Guatemala, as many think the nation doesn’t even have the resources or infrastructure to become a Safe Third Country for immigrants in the first place—making Trump’s expectations unreasonable and his threats unfair.
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