Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has cancelled a planned trip to the United States after President Donald Trump tweeted that he should cancel his visit if Mexico is “unwilling to pay” for the massive border wall being build to stop illegal migrants from entering the U.S.
“We informed the White House this morning that I will not attend the working meeting scheduled for next Tuesday” with Trump in Washington, Pena Nieto said on Twitter on Thursday.
Mr. Pena Nieto's decision came hours after Mr. Trump tweeted that “If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Pena Nieto condemned the U.S. decision and repeated that Mexico would not pay for the wall despite Mr. Trump’s assertions that it would.
He was scheduled to be in Washington on January 31.
“Mexico does not believe in walls. I’ve said time again; Mexico will not pay for any wall,” he said in a video statement posted on Twitter. “I regret and reject the decision of the U.S. to build the wall.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He said he would wait for a final report from his top officials who arrived in Wasington on Wednesday to meet with the Trump administration, and previous meetings with Mexican legislators, before deciding which steps he would take next.
Mr. Trump also tweeted that the U.S. has a $60 billion trade deficit with Mexico.
“It has been a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] with massive numbers of jobs and companies lost,” Mr. Trump, who has been in office for just six days, said.
Earlier, he signed two executive orders directing the construction of a wall, boosting border patrol forces and increasing the number of immigration enforcement officers who carry out deportations.
In a speech on Monday, Mr. Pena Nieto said his government was prepared to negotiate with the U.S. if Mexico’s national sovereignty was respected. He laid out economic integration and respect for the rights of migrants and the money they send home as his nation’s key negotiating points.
Mr. Trump has suggested some of the $25 billion in annual remittances that migrants return home would be retained to pay for the border wall.
“Neither confrontation nor submission. Dialogue is the solution,” Mr. Pena Nieto said Monday.
Mr. Trump said he wanted to build an “impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall” between the U.S. and Mexico.
The U.S.-Mexico border is about 3,100-km long and traverses all sorts of terrain from empty, dusty desert to the lush and rugged surroundings of the Rio Grande.
Some 1,046 km of the border is covered already by a confused and non-continuous series of fences, concrete slabs and other structures. Mr. Trump says his wall will cover 1,600 km and natural obstacles will take care of the rest.