Mexico has insisted it won’t fund Trump’s border wall in response to the president’s tweets that claimed he would force the country to pay for his promised wall.
While devastating flooding from Hurricane Harvey swept through Texas, Trump turned his attention a bit south of the Lone Star State on Sunday.
Trump accused Mexico of being ‘very difficult’ at the negotiating table over the North American Free Trade Agreement, and threatening anew to terminate the deal.
He added: ‘With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other.’
Mexico hit back in a fiery response, saying it would ‘not pay, under any circumstances, for a wall’ before offering support to Texans hurt by the hurricane.
President Trump declared that Mexico would pay for his promised border wall on Sunday. Mexican officials responded that it would ‘not pay, under any circumstances, for a wall’
The lengthy statement (pictured) also snubbed Trump for using social media to discuss the NAFTA deal. Mexico offered support to Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
Trump maintained on Sunday morning that Mexico would pay for the wall in some form, adding that it was necessary due to the country’s high crime rates.
A few hours later, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry hit back to Trump’s tweet in a lengthy statement that also snubbed the president’s frequent use of social media.
The statement read: ‘As the Mexican government has always stated, our country will not pay, under any circumstances for a wall or physical barrier built on US territory along the Mexican border.
‘With regard to violence generated in Mexico by the illicit drugs, arms and money trafficking between our countries, the Mexican Government reiterates that it is a shared problem that will only end if its root causes are addressed: high demand for drugs in the United States and supply from Mexico.’
Trump wrote: ‘With Mexico being one of the highest crime Nations in the world, we must have THE WALL. Mexico will pay for it through reimbursement/other’
Trump also accused Mexico of being ‘very difficult’ at the negotiating table over the North American Free Trade Agreement, and threatening anew to terminate the deal on Sunday
The statement continued: ‘Mexico will not negotiate NAFTA nor any other aspect of the bilateral relationship through social media or the media.’
Mexico ended the statement by offering support to Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey, adding: ‘The government of Mexico takes this opportunity to express its full solidarity with the people and government of the United States for the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
‘We have offered the US government all the help and cooperation that can be provided by the different Mexican governmental agencies to deal with the impacts of this natural disaster, as good neighbors should always do in times of difficulty.’
Trump earlier in the day had accused Mexico and Canada of being ‘very difficult’ at the negotiating table over the North American Free Trade Agreement, and threatening anew to terminate the deal.
President Enrique Pena Nieto has repeatedly said Mexico would not fund Trump’s border wall
‘We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada.Both being very difficult,may have to terminate?’ Trump tweeted Sunday morning.
The tweet echoed comments he made while campaigning in Phoenix last week, as he said told the crowd he would ‘end up probably terminating NAFTA ‘at some point.’
The U.S., Mexico and Canada began formal negotiations earlier this month to rework the 23-year-old trade pact that Trump blames for hundreds of thousands of lost U.S. factory jobs.
The trade agreement was signed by former President Bill Clinton, the husband of Trump’s political rival Hillary Clinton, who he beat in the November presidential election last year.