Mexican President calls for closer bilateral ties with US

World Today

Bilateral ties

Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto gave a major foreign policy speech on Monday.

He spoke about Mexico’s need to strengthen bilateral ties with countries other than the the United States.

This comes after Donald Trump vowed to honor his campaign pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and build a wall along the Mexican-U.S. border.

CGTN’s Martin Markovits reports. Follow Martin Markovits on Twitter @MartinMarkovits

In a major foreign policy address on Monday, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said his government would work to keep NAFTA, a tariff free zone despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to renegotiate.

President Nieto said Mexico will have to look to other countries to make economic deals and adjust to the reality of a Trump presidency.

With the possibility that Trump could impose high tariffs on Mexican exports to protect U.S. jobs, Nieto called on Mexico to work closer with its Latin American neighbors.

Following Trump’s signing of an executive order to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Nieto said Mexico would seek to negotiate bilateral economic agreements with countries that were part of that trade deal.

The Mexican president criticized Trump’s controversial plans to build a wall and start mass deportations of Mexicans illegally living in the U.S.

There is growing concern that if U.S. tariffs are implemented on Mexican products, it could have a negative impact on the Mexican economy. This will be one of many issues discussed at next week’s meeting between Trump and Pena Nieto in Washington.