Trump’s border wall not discussed at summit
VICE President Mike Pence says the topic of funding President Donald Trump’s long-promised border wall did not come up in his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at an international summit in Peru.
President Donald Trump promised to build a wall along the southern border and insisted Mexico would pay for it. Mexico has refused.
Mr Pence met with Mr Pena Nieto on the weekend. He acknowledged that the two have a difference of opinion and said that some issues were “set aside, for a later date”. He says they discussed the fact that both countries have strong presidents with strong personalities who are bound to have strong differences at times. But he says their meeting focused on issues the countries can work together on, including immigration, the North American Free Trade Agreement and combating drugs.
Mr Pense said there was a “real possibility” the US could reach a deal with Canada and Mexico on a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement “within the next several weeks.” Mr Pence told reporters after meeting with the leaders of both countries at the summit that he’ll leave the event “very hopeful that we are very close” to a deal that will be better for the US.
Mr Trump has long assailed the impact of NAFTA on US workers and insisted on a new round of negotiations with Canada and Mexico on the deal. He has said if he was not happy with the terms, then he would pull the US out.