Mexico reiterates they will not pay for Trump’s wall “under any circumstances”
Published: Aug 29, 2017, 10:57 am • Updated: Aug 29, 2017, 10:57 am
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to press the need for his promised southern border wall, tweeting that Mexico will pay for it “through reimbursement/other.”
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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
Mexico’s foreign relations ministry responded to Trump’s comments Sunday by reiterating that Mexico will never pay for a border wall and that it will not renegotiate NAFTA via social media or the press.
The statement said:
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. This statement is not part of a Mexican negotiating strategy, but rather a principle of national sovereignty and dignity.
In the statement, the ministry also emphasized that the violence generated by drug trafficking is a shared problem between Mexico and the U.S., which creates the demand for drugs:
With regard to the 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 (and other countries). … Only on the basis of the principles of shared responsibility, teamwork and mutual trust will we be able to overcome this challenge.
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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 second round of the NAFTA renegotiation is scheduled to begin Friday in Mexico City.
Trump is accusing Canada and Mexico of being “very difficult” at the negotiating table over the North American Free Trade Agreement, and threatening anew to terminate the deal. Trump tweeted on Sunday morning that NAFTA is the “worst trade deal ever made.”
We are in the NAFTA (worst trade deal ever made) renegotiation process with Mexico & Canada.Both being very difficult,may have to terminate?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2017
Trump said at a rally last week in Phoenix that he would “end up probably terminating” NAFTA “at some point.”
The Cannabist’s Polly Washburn contributed to this report
Topics: donald trump, Mexico, mexico drug trafficking, Mexico-U.S. border
