Washington: US President Donald Trump threatened to cancel his 31 January meeting at the White House with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto if Mexico rules out reimbursing the US for construction of a border wall.
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“The US has a 60 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico,” Trump said in a series of messages on Thursday morning on Twitter. He described “a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA” and blamed the agreement for jobs and company losses. “If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.”
Pena Nieto in a televised address on Wednesday reiterated that Mexico will not pay for a border wall and left open whether he would carry out his planned visit. He also said Mexico demanded respect as an autonomous nation even as it negotiates new trade rules with the US.
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Trump said Wednesday the US would initially undertake costs of building the wall while insisting Mexico will reimburse the US. Bloomberg
