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Miami Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Deputy secretary of State to hold talks in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala
June 9 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will travel this week to Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala in an effort to boost economic growth and end undocumented immigration, the State Department announced Monday. Landau will participate in high-level bilateral talks "to further strengthen diplomatic ties and cooperation," starting Tuesday. He will also work to "drive private sector led economic growth, boost U.S. commercial investments in our region and highlight the importance of ending illegal immigration," before returning Friday to the United States. Landau, who was born in Madrid, Spain, and speaks fluent Spanish, served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. He was confirmed by the Senate to become U.S. deputy secretary of State in March. After his confirmation, Landau addressed the people of Mexico in a Spanish-language statement saying, "the relationship between our countries will continue to be one of my top priorities." "Even if I do not have the pleasure of living among you again, you will always be very present to me," he added. Landau's return to Mexico this week comes three months after Trump threatened 25% tariffs on all imports to stop the flow of undocumented migrants and illegal drugs into the United States. Those tariffs were later suspended for products compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. While Trump set 25% tariffs on Mexico, he set only 10% tariffs on Guatemala, which officials hope put their country in a better position to spur more investment. Lisardo Bolaños, former deputy minister of Investment and Competitiveness in Guatemala's Ministry of Economy, said unlike Mexico, the United States maintains a goods trade surplus with Guatemala. "Guatemala is a key U.S. ally in the region. We have shown decades-long support for U.S. policies in the international arena," Bolaños said last month. Undocumented immigration is expected to be among the lead topics discussed this week when Landau meets with officials in El Salvador, which is currently housing more than 137 migrants flown out of the United States to a maximum-security prison. Many of the deportees, removed under the provisions of the Alien Enemies Act, were Venezuelans accused of being members of Tren de Aragua, which Trump calls a terrorist organization. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled the Department of Homeland Security had "improperly" flown the migrants from Texas to El Salvador without granting them due process to challenge their designation as "alien enemies." Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Deputy secretary of State to hold talks in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala
June 9 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will travel this week to Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala in an effort to boost economic growth and end undocumented immigration, the State Department announced Monday. Landau will participate in high-level bilateral talks "to further strengthen diplomatic ties and cooperation," starting Tuesday. He will also work to "drive private sector led economic growth, boost U.S. commercial investments in our region and highlight the importance of ending illegal immigration," before returning Friday to the United States. Landau, who was born in Madrid, Spain, and speaks fluent Spanish, served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. He was confirmed by the Senate to become U.S. deputy secretary of State in March. After his confirmation, Landau addressed the people of Mexico in a Spanish-language statement saying, "the relationship between our countries will continue to be one of my top priorities." "Even if I do not have the pleasure of living among you again, you will always be very present to me," he added. Landau's return to Mexico this week comes three months after Trump threatened 25% tariffs on all imports to stop the flow of undocumented migrants and illegal drugs into the United States. Those tariffs were later suspended for products compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. While Trump set 25% tariffs on Mexico, he set only 10% tariffs on Guatemala, which officials hope put their country in a better position to spur more investment. Lisardo Bolaños, former deputy minister of Investment and Competitiveness in Guatemala's Ministry of Economy, said unlike Mexico, the United States maintains a goods trade surplus with Guatemala. "Guatemala is a key U.S. ally in the region. We have shown decades-long support for U.S. policies in the international arena," Bolaños said last month. Undocumented immigration is expected to be among the lead topics discussed this week when Landau meets with officials in El Salvador, which is currently housing more than 137 migrants flown out of the United States to a maximum-security prison. Many of the deportees, removed under the provisions of the Alien Enemies Act, were Venezuelans accused of being members of Tren de Aragua, which Trump calls a terrorist organization. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled the Department of Homeland Security had "improperly" flown the migrants from Texas to El Salvador without granting them due process to challenge their designation as "alien enemies."
UPI
a day ago
- Business
- UPI
Deputy secretary of State to hold talks in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala
1 of 2 | U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will travel this week to Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala in an effort to boost economic growth and end illegal immigration, the State Department announced Monday. Photo by U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico/Website June 9 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will travel this week to Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala in an effort to boost economic growth and end undocumented immigration, the State Department announced Monday. Landau will participate in high-level bilateral talks "to further strengthen diplomatic ties and cooperation," starting Tuesday. He will also work to "drive private sector led economic growth, boost U.S. commercial investments in our region and highlight the importance of ending illegal immigration," before returning Friday to the United States. Landau, who was born in Madrid, Spain, and speaks fluent Spanish, served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. He was confirmed by the Senate to become U.S. deputy secretary of State in March. After his confirmation, Landau addressed the people of Mexico in a Spanish-language statement saying, "the relationship between our countries will continue to be one of my top priorities." "Even if I do not have the pleasure of living among you again, you will always be very present to me," he added. Landau's return to Mexico this week comes three months after Trump threatened 25% tariffs on all imports to stop the flow of undocumented migrants and illegal drugs into the United States. Those tariffs were later suspended for products compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. While Trump set 25% tariffs on Mexico, he set only 10% tariffs on Guatemala, which officials hope put their country in a better position to spur more investment. Lisardo Bolaños, former deputy minister of Investment and Competitiveness in Guatemala's Ministry of Economy, said unlike Mexico, the United States maintains a goods trade surplus with Guatemala. "Guatemala is a key U.S. ally in the region. We have shown decades-long support for U.S. policies in the international arena," Bolaños said last month. Undocumented immigration is expected to be among the lead topics discussed this week when Landau meets with officials in El Salvador, which is currently housing more than 137 migrants flown out of the United States to a maximum-security prison. Many of the deportees, removed under the provisions of the Alien Enemies Act, were Venezuelans accused of being members of Tren de Aragua, which Trump calls a terrorist organization. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled the Department of Homeland Security had "improperly" flown the migrants from Texas to El Salvador without granting them due process to challenge their designation as "alien enemies."
Mint
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
What's good for politicians is good for General Motors
General Motors CEO Mary Barra earned $29.5 million last year, and it's hard to argue that she isn't earning her keep. The automaker sold more cars in the U.S. than any other company last year, and its profits have doubled in her 11 years as CEO. Credit her ability to please her most important customers—politicians. Their command is her wish. While doubling down on manufacturing profitable gas guzzlers, Ms. Barra promoted electric vehicles to ingratiate herself to Democrats who want to eliminate the products that churn out profits for her company. She again proved her flexible principles last week by praising President Trump's auto tariffs, which the company estimates will dent its profits by $5 billion this year. 'I think tariffs is one tool that the administration can use to level the playing field," she said. What she omitted is that the playing field has been tilted in GM's favor for decades by a 25% tariff on pickup trucks, which gives domestic automakers an effective monopoly. Also: Mr. Trump's new 25% tariffs on all cars and parts not made in the U.S. will hurt GM, but they will wallop its foreign competitors even more. In 2018 Ms. Barra got a crash course in politicking when she announced a corporate restructuring that involved closing four U.S. plants that produced low-selling sedans. Her goal was to make GM leaner and more profitable. In this she succeeded, but she blundered by not throwing a bone to Mr. Trump, who thinks CEOs answer to him. 'I spoke with her when I heard they were closing and I said, 'You know, this country has done a lot for General Motors,' " he said, adding that he had encouraged Ms. Barra to keep its Lordstown, Ohio, plant open: 'You better get back in there soon." Mr. Trump was right that GM is a willing ward of Washington. In addition to the longstanding 25% pickup tariff, the U.S. government invested some $51 billion in the company as part of its bankruptcy, only about $39 billion of which it recovered. The first Trump administration also went to bat for GM and other automakers by rolling back its predecessor's burdensome fuel-economy standards and revoking a waiver that allowed California to impose costly EV quotas. Ms. Barra no doubt knows that her business is at the mercy of a mercurial government, and better keep the rulers happy. And so she did. In 2019, GM announced plans to create 450 new factory jobs in Ohio, as well as a joint venture with LG Chem to build a $2.3 billion EV battery plant near the closed Lordstown factory. Mr. Trump repaid the favor with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which included wage mandates and domestic content requirements for tariff-free imports from Mexico and Canada that disadvantaged GM's foreign competitors. Ms. Barra attended Mr. Trump's USMCA signing ceremony. After Mr. Trump lost re-election, Ms. Barra began kowtowing to her new master in Washington. GM rapidly did a U-turn on California's EV rules. 'We believe the ambitious electrification goals of the President-elect, California, and General Motors are aligned to address climate change by drastically reducing automobile emissions," Ms. Barra said in November 2020. On Jan. 28, 2021, GM announced plans to go all-electric by 2035, conforming its business plans to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's mandate. That August, Ms. Barra cheered Mr. Biden's plans to rev up fuel-economy standards at a White House event. A few months later, Ms. Barra lent her support to the Democrats' $5 trillion Build Back Better legislation, notwithstanding its costly new entitlements that would be paid for in part with corporate tax hikes. Never mind that Ms. Barra had been just named chairman of the Business Roundtable, which was lobbying against the legislation. Paramount for Ms. Barra was the bill's $12,500 tax credit for EVs built with union labor, which would have put GM's nonunion competitors like Tesla at a disadvantage. Although that bill failed, Ms. Barra continued to advocate for its successor, the Inflation Reduction Act, which included rich subsidies for EVs and battery production. The Biden Energy Department repaid Ms. Barra by awarding GM a $2.5 billion low-interest loan for its battery joint venture with LG. Now that the political tides in Washington have turned, Ms. Barra has too. GM this spring lobbied Congress to reverse the federal waiver for California's EV mandate. 'Shameful what GM did behind our back," Mr. Newsom snapped after the Senate approved the resolution and sent it to Mr. Trump's desk. Last week, GM scrapped a plan to make EV motors at an upstate New York factory. Instead, the company will make high-tech V-8 engines for full-size trucks and SUVs, which Ms. Barra called 'the most significant engine investment we've made in history." Music to Mr. Trump's ears. If it's any consolation to Democrats, Ms. Barra will surely be at their beck and call next time they control Washington. Can you blame her? When government has sweeping power to pick winners and losers, a CEO's responsibility becomes to keep the company's overlords happy so it always comes out a winner.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Barra: GM is in 'better position' than during first Trump administration
General Motors CEO Mary Barra acknowledges the company could have been better positioned during its conversations with President Donald Trump in his first term — particularly when it came to the Detroit automaker's North American manufacturing operations. GM's top executive said on stage at the Wall Street Journal's Future of Everything conference in New York City that she brings lessons learned from past interactions with Trump's White House to today's tariff-related conversations. 'When we didn't see eye to eye on some things, I think there's actually some things where General Motors could have handled some situations better,' Barra said May 28, referring to the company's past chats with Trump's administration. 'We had to do some restructuring, and we could have executed better, which would have positioned it a lot better.' During the negotiation of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2018, the existing trade pact among the North American countries that Trump managed during his first term, conversations between the president and GM occasionally turned ugly. At the time, GM was in the process of shuttering its massive assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which had focused on manufacturing small cars, amid restructuring efforts that involved layoffs of nearly 6,000 salaried workers in North America. The changes made national headlines and drew negative attention, and tweets from the president. 'But even through that period and then beyond, we've always continued to have dialogue, and that's a kind of a lesson learned. I've been very clear that I believe in electric vehicles, I'm very clear about the importance of manufacturing," she told Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. 'Having the dialogue to make sure they understand our industry — because I think we do have a shared goal of strengthening it — has been beneficial.' GM is facing costs up to $5 billion this year from Trump's tariffs, the company said after its most recent earnings report. Barra applauded the relief stemming from the most recent executive orders signed April 29, which set 25% tariffs on all imported autos, which began in April, and another 25% on all auto parts set to begin by May 3. The change prevented stacking tariffs on top of previously announced duties on steel and aluminum, the costs of which Barra described as 'untenable.' GM has made a variety of production changes at plants in the United States this year, including an $888 investment the company announced late May 27 in its New York propulsion assembly plant to produce the next-generation V-8 engine, the automaker's largest investment ever in an engine plant. GM said April 23 that it planned to expand transmission production at its Toledo Propulsions Systems plant where it builds transmissions used in the Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks. More: General Motors revamps credit card, changes GM Rewards program to add discounts More: General Motors commits $888 million to build next-gen V-8 engine in New York 'We're trying to make changes to pay less tariffs because we're strengthening our U.S. manufacturing,' Barra said. 'There's decisions we can make when we look at the entire equation … we have the capacity available in some of the assembly plants and engine plants that we have in this country that we're going to continue to utilize.' General Motors did not join automakers that advertised tariff-free pricing deals, and Barra would not commit to post-tariff vehicle price changes, citing the dynamic pricing in the automotive industry even without tariffs that requires flexibility to stay competitive. 'I've had the opportunity to talk to the president and his administration on a regular basis, and one of the things that I'm very appreciative is they have taken the time to understand ... the dynamics of our industry,' Barra said. 'I can't speak to all the other industries that are facing tariffs, but I can tell you for decades now, it has not been a level playing field with U.S. automakers globally with either tariffs or non-tariff trade barriers.' Senior autos writer Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this report. Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Barra: GM is in 'better position' than last Trump administration Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
