Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday canceled a planned Jan. 31 meeting with President Donald J. Trump, hours after Trump tweeted that the meeting should be scrapped if Mexico won’t pay for a border wall.
Pena Nieto’s message on Twitter ended days of uncertainty about how he would respond to Trump’s aggressive stance toward the country, and illustrated the challenges world leaders are likely to face in dealing with Trump’s voluble, Twitter-based diplomacy.
It also signaled a remarkable souring of relations between the U.S. and its immediate southern neighbor, one of America’s largest trading partners and a country with which it shares a nearly 2,000-mile border.
“This morning we have informed the White House I will not attend the working meeting planned for next Tuesday,” Pena Nieto tweeted.
“Mexico reaffirms its willingness to work with the United States to reach agreements that benefit both nations,” he added.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer responded to the Mexican president’s announcement, saying: “We’ll look for a date to schedule something in the future. We will keep the lines of communication open.”
Earlier Thursday, Trump had tweeted that “If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting” in Washington D.C.
Trump said Wednesday he would start building a U.S.-Mexico border wall and has vowed to make Mexico pay for it. Mexico opposes the wall and has repeatedly said it won’t pay.
Officials had said Mexico was “considering” canceling after the border wall announcement, but Trump appeared to beat Mexico to the punch in that game of brinkmanship.
Former foreign relations secretary Jorge Castaneda told local media that after Trump’s tweet, “Pena Nieto has no other choice but to say ‘I’m not going.'”
Trump’s unpredictable style appeared to catch Mexico’s normally quiet and cautious diplomacy off guard.
“I think that, in general, diplomacy is not conducted via Twitter,” Finance Secretary Jose Antonio Meade told Radio Formula.
Mexico’s best-known opposition politician, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, tweeted that “in the face of Trump’s latest outburst, don’t go to the meeting, and submit an urgent complaint to the U.N. for human rights violations.”
(AP)
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14 Responses
The breakup of NAFTA will be highly disruptive. The United States has massive exports to Mexico, and when Mexico retaliates it will mean lost income for many Americans. It would not be surprising if the Mexican people decide to boycott American goods and services – with their government lifting a finger. It will also mean higher prices, without getting extra for the higher prices. In addition, it will force Mexico to seek alliances elsewhere which may not be in American interests (does the US really want Mexico to ally with China?). If the socialists come to powewr in Mexico it could be very disruptive.
On top of all that, the anti-free trade policies, while enjoying broad support in both parties could lead to a trade war similar to the 1930s, when the US raised tariffs to “protect jobs” and turned the recession of 1929 into the Great Depression.
Well stated #1. Smoot-Hawley=Tumpkopf=bilateral disruption of the North American economy. We obviously need to renegotiate NAFTA but you don’t start a negotiation by insulting and undermining your counter-parties who are freely elected heads of sovereign states.
Has the Mexican president studied today’s Daf Yomi Baba Basro Daf 4, where there are cases where he can be compelled to pay for “dividing wall”, albeit 1/2, & President Trump the other 1/2.
Totally agree with akuperma
As always he’s right on the ball!
#1 do u really think Mexican people buy American products?! Like what? And if they do buy food from America that means they will starve!
Trump strong! I think Americans forgot that a leader means someone thats strong, unlike our previous cowardly president I will not mention his name!
President Trump has the right to build walls and fences in American territory to prevent strangers to come in. I mean, that is what I did in my house and in my business and it worked. What I don´t understand is: why is President Trump willing that the Mexicans have to pay for it….can anyone please explain to me? If Mr. Trump wants the wall, he and his country have to pay for it right?..why the Mexicans?
I don’t know of any Mexican immigrants. I have no reason to believe they even exist.
The demise of diplomacy and the rise of mafia rule.
#5 – Actually, the Mexicans are leading customers for American goods. Both for finished consumer goods and agricultural products they have alternative sources. In addition, the cheap Mexican industrial goods are arguably replacing cheap Chinese goods – and the Chinese live far away and aren’t such good consumers of American goods.
akuperma
Obviously you’re not familiar with the concept of leverage that trump loves to employ. it happens to be a wise business tactic. too bad you don’t get it. keep it up!
#8, visit any maternity ward, public school, welfare center, food stamp center, WIC center and jail and you will see they exist.
As much as I hate to sound like this, but the amount of trade between the two countries is so large that any change can produce cataclysmic results and is totally unpredictable. Some statistics breaks down as follows:
U.S. direct investments in Mexican stock (year 2014) was almost $108 Billion. Mexican direct investment in American stock was almost $18 Billion. Hurt Mexico, then U.S. investments get hurt bad.
In 2015 U.S. exported over $30 Billion in “services” to Mexico, while the U.S. imported over $21 Billion in services. Again, U.S. loses if Mexico can’t buy U.S. services.
Material goods for 2015 (machinery, plastics, etc.) breaks down as U.S. import of $295 billion and export of $236 Billion. In other words, the U.S. pays Mexico more than Mexico pays the U.S., but only in this “goods” category. Exports and imports of agricultural products (food) was nearly even (18$ Billion exported and $21 Billion imported). And Mexico has a better climate for winter than most of the United States. Food prices (especially in winter) could get real bad if they can’t import from Mexico.
All of the pundits come out with their expertise in all ways. Brilliance. What’s next, guys, gonna tell us about how BREXIT will hurt the market, the Brits, the world?
Keep your opinions to yourself. I bet that none of the EXPERTS offering opinions above in this article have ever personally managed so much as $1 million dollars let alone enough to express true expertise.
This is called NEGOTIATION. Bilateral negotiation. Leave this stuff to the experts… sit back and watch… Hisyatzvu u’r’oo es hayeshua….