Mexico City: Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday vowed “no confrontation but no submission” to the United States in renegotiating relations between the neighbours under new US President Donald Trump.
Pena Nieto said he was willing to discuss trade, illegal migration and other aspects of bilateral ties with Trump but insisted he would defend Mexico’s national interests.
“Neither confrontation nor submission: the solution is dialogue and negotiation,” Pena Nieto said in a speech outlining his strategy for relations with Trump.
Trump has threatened to scrap international trade accords to protect US jobs.
On Monday, he signed a memo on withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade pact championed by his predecessor Barack Obama.
Pena Nieto said he would now seek to negotiate new bilateral deals with other TPP member countries individually to protect Mexico’s trade interests.
He challenged Trump’s vow to build a border wall to stop migrants from Mexico entering the United States illegally — one of the most sensitive themes in Trump’s election campaign.
“Even though Mexico recognizes the right of any sovereign country to guarantee its own security, Mexico does not believe in walls. Our country believes in bridges,” Pena Nieto said.
