On Sunday President Trump once again said that the United States must build an anti-immigrant wall on the Mexican border and Mexico will pay the bill one way or another.
“Because Mexico is one of the countries in the world where crime is the strongest, we must have THE WALL,” Donald Trump tweeted. “Mexico will have to pay for it by paying or otherwise,” he added, between several posts devoted to hurricane Harvey and severe floods that hit Texas.
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 responded via its Foreign Ministry that “as has consistently held the Mexican government, our country will pay in any way and under any circumstances a wall.”
“This position is not part of a negotiating strategy for Mexico, but it is a principle of national sovereignty and dignity,” the ministry said in a statement.
The subject will be at the heart of the debate on the 2018 budget to be passed by the Congress after its September return. The White House demands that the federal funding act include funds for the construction of the wall, but the Democrats, who oppose it and hold a blocking minority in the Senate, could be intransigent and “Shutdown” on October 1: hundreds of thousands of federal non-essential public servants would be forced to stay at home, paralyzing many government departments.
The president has already said he is ready to go to a deadlock.
On Twitter, Donald Trump also left the threat of a break with Mexico, but also Canada, as part of the ongoing renegotiation of the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Describing this agreement as the “worst trade treaty ever concluded,” the US president added to the subject of neighboring countries: “As both are difficult, should we not finish?”
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
Funding for this wall along the 3142 km of the border with Mexico, Donald Trump’s campaign promise to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking remains a puzzle. The candidate had assured that Mexico would pay for its construction. The president then raised the idea of raising customs duties so that Mexicans indirectly contribute to this costly project.
“What we’re going to do is a mechanism whereby we get the money from the Congress for this crucial project,” House Security Advisor Tom Bossert said on Sunday. ABC News. Then, “working with the Mexicans on other issues and on trade policy”, “we will decide” how to resolve the issue, he added.