Trump calls for tax on Mexican imports to pay for wall

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who insists his country will do no such thing, is set to meet Mr Trump in the White House next week.

Following this incident, Pena Nieto cancelled a trip to visit Mr Trump.

The wall and the tariff proposal have outraged Mexico, many U.S leaders including Republicans, but Mr. Trump is unfazed.

Pena Nieto did not directly mention whether he would make the trip to Washington on January 31, but said he would await reports from the high-level team of Mexican officials now meeting with Trump administration officials in Washington.

Cutting Mexico out of NAFTA would also likely serve a blow to the United States, as the USA could lose 6 million jobs that depend on exports to Mexico. “We will keep the lines of communication open”.

“I have said it time and again: Mexico will not pay for any wall”, he said, referring to Trump’s vow to make the southern neighbor pay for the barrier.

Mexico will never pay for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, the country’s president said in a televised address Wednesday.

House Speaker Paul Ryan had nothing but praise for President Donald Trump and his policies Friday, saying he has “endless energy” and that the border wall is a “national security priority”.

However, Trump has since claimed the pair reached a mutual agreement to cancel the meeting, The Hill reported.

“We don’t want to have an open border, but I do know that if you put an emphasis on a 14th century solution called a “wall” – we saw what happened with Imperial China and their wall, we know what happened with the Communists and their wall”. But, if Trump is capable of drastically rewriting the political future of the United States, why shouldn’t Mexico be capable of it, too?

Mexico’s top policymakers said that their country “is in a strong position” to deal with uncertainty following the election of Donald Trump as USA president, though they also signaled readiness to make any needed adjustments.

The Wisconsin Republican made his comments to reporters in Philadelphia, where GOP lawmakers are holding their annual strategy retreat. That breaks down to $267 billion in American goods and services exported to Mexico and $316 billion flowing the other way. But he wouldn’t commit.

It is unclear what retaliatory steps Mexico could take if the border tax is approved, because exports to the US are essential to the Mexican economy. “I would say in months – certainly planning is starting immediately”.

“Everybody from the largest retailer down to the smallest retailer has looked at their books and this is unworkable for retailers, and ultimately the consumer is going to be the one who pays the price”, he said.