Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary pushes back on Trump: ‘We will never pay for a wall’

The Mexican secretary of foreign affairs on Tuesday pushed back after President Trump repeated his assertion that Mexico would pay for a wall along the border between the two countries.

“We will NEVER pay for a wall, however,” Luis Videgaray Caso tweeted. “That has been absolutely clear from the very beginning.”

We just reached a trade understanding with the US, and the outlook for the relationship between our two countries is very positive. We will NEVER pay for a wall, however. That has been absolutely clear from the very beginning.

— Luis Videgaray Caso (@LVidegaray) August 28, 2018

{mosads}Videgaray’s tweet came in response to comments Trump made during a meeting with FIFA and U.S. Soccer officials about the 2026 men’s World Cup.

Shortly after praising a joint bid from the U.S., Mexico and Canada to host the tournament as a “great partnership,” Trump was asked about Mexico paying for his border wall.

“The wall will be paid for very easily by Mexico. It will ultimately be paid for by Mexico,” Trump told reporters. 

“It’ll ultimately be paid for by Mexico.” — @POTUS responded to a question Tuesday about funding a U.S.-Mexico border wall pic.twitter.com/GZLuuM0fP0

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 28, 2018

Trump has claimed since his presidential campaign that he would oversee construction of a wall on the U.S. southern border that would be paid for by Mexico. Late last month, Trump threatened to shut down the government if he did not receive adequate funding from the U.S. Congress for the structure.

Mexican officials have insisted repeatedly that they will not fund Trump’s wall.

The president’s latest revival of calls for Mexico to pay come a day after he announced a breakthrough in trade negotiations with Mexico amid contentious talks on revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The deal, which Trump said he plans to call the “United States-Mexico Trade Agreement,” would require 75 percent of auto content to be made in U.S. and Mexico, up from 62.5 percent, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced.

The deal also would require that 40-45 percent of auto content be made by workers earning at least $16 per hour.

Canada is not included in the initial framework of a deal. Trump said Canada could become part of a three-nation deal if they negotiate “fairly,” while Mexican officials said they look forward to seeing Canada join the agreement.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto mentioned in a daily video address on Tuesday that, despite the breakthrough on trade, the two countries still have differences over who will pay for the wall. 

Neither Trump nor Peña Nieto brought up the wall during a conference call in front of reporters on Monday to announce the trade agreement.