President Donald Trump claimed Mexico will still pay for his proposed wall along the U.S. southern border due to the the newly signed trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
I often stated, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.” This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018
Trump referenced the newly negotiated U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement (USMCA) which he recently signed with the leaders of both countries at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. The president has also ramped up discussions with newly inaugurated Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, speaking with him Wednesday evening.
US President Donald Trump is shown border wall prototypes in San Diego, California on March 13, 2018. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
“President Trump and Mexican President López Obrador spoke yesterday about the positive relations between our two countries. They discussed the need to address illegal migration from Central America to the United States by addressing the drivers of migration, such as insecurity and economic stagnation,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday morning. (Related: Trump Signs New Trade Deal With Mexico, Canada)
A man embraces a child as an U.S. border patrol federal agent reacts during a brief reunification meeting of relatives separated by deportation and immigration called “Hugs, No Walls”, at the border fence between Mexico and U.S in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico October 13, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
Trump finalized the USMCA in early October after nearly two years of negotiations between all the parties. The president has railed against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for years and promised during the negotiations that the border wall would be funded through it.
Despite Trump’s claim, however, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters at the time that there was no discussion to that effect during his negotiations with Mexican officials.