Trump discusses trade, border security with Mexican president-elect

President Trump spoke Monday morning with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president-elect of Mexico, about trade and immigration policy.

Trump told reporters that the two men spoke for about 30 minutes. They discussed border security and trade, with a specific focus on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trump said he and López Obrador also discussed the possibility of a separate trade deal solely between Mexico and the U.S. 

“We had a lot of good conversation. I think the relationship will be a very good one. We’ll see what happens, but I believe it’s going to be a very good one,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with the prime minister of the Netherlands. 

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Trump later criticized U.S. immigration policies, and expressed hoped that Mexico “can help us until we straighten out our immigration laws.”

“We talked about border security, trade, NAFTA, we talked about a separate deal, just Mexico and the United States,” Trump says about conversation with newly elected Mexican president Lopez Obrador. He says their relationship will be a “good one” https://t.co/Q3IKTsAjWi pic.twitter.com/MekN3mumZj

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 2, 2018

López Obrador, a left-wing populist who has vowed to take a tougher stance against the U.S. president, won Mexico’s presidential election on Sunday night, defeating the current ruling party.

López Obrador’s victory raises new questions about the future of the U.S.-Mexico relationship. He has publicly spoken out against Trump’s rhetoric and efforts to build a wall along the southern border.

Trump has had a tense relationship with Mexico since hitting the campaign trail.

He said at his campaign launch that Mexico was sending “rapists” and criminals” across the border into the U.S., and has repeatedly claimed that Mexico would pay for his proposed border wall. Mexico has said it will not pay for the wall.

Tensions have increased as Trump simultaneously pushes for a crackdown on illegal immigration and a renegotiated NAFTA deal with Mexico and Canada.