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Mexico Not Paying for Trump's Border Wall – Economy Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Mexico has made it very clear it is not going to pay for the wall on the southern US border, its economy secretary has said after President Donald Trump’s claims to the contrary.
Sputnik

"The president of Mexico has been very clear: Mexico will never pay for that wall," Ildefonso Guajardo tweeted on Thursday.

President Trump told the Wall Street Journal earlier in the day that Mexico could pay for his flagship project "indirectly through NAFTA," a free trade deal that is being renegotiated in Washington, D.C.

From the 'Rhetorical' Wall to NAFTA, Mexico Has Always Prioritized Trade With US
"They can pay for it indirectly through NAFTA. We make a good deal on NAFTA, and, say, I’m going to take a small percentage of that money and it’s going toward the wall. Guess what? Mexico’s paying," Trump told the outlet.

Secretary Guajardo, who is visiting the US capital for talks, emphasized that "neither today nor at any moment during the negotiations the wall was topic of NAFTA discussions."

According to a blueprint seen by US media, Trump is seeking $18 billion over ten years for the wall project. The administration reportedly asked the US Congress to set aside funds for the construction of several hundreds of miles of barriers on the southwestern stretch of the border.

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