Trump: ‘Mexico is paying for the wall’ through savings in new trade deal

President Trump on Thursday tweeted that “Mexico is paying for the wall” through savings the U.S. will make in a new trade deal known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). 

“I often stated, ‘One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall,'” Trump tweeted. “This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!”

I often stated, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.” This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018

Trump this week threatened to partially shut down the government unless he gets the $5 billion he wants for the border wall. 

{mosads}He threatened before a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the U.S. military would build remaining sections of the wall if Democrats “do not give us votes to secure our country.”

One of Trump’s most popular presidential campaign platforms called on Mexico to pay for his proposed wall at the southern border, which Mexico has declined to do. Now, House GOP appropriators are considering a short-term, stopgap funding bill that would include the $5 billion in border wall funding Trump has demanded. 

Trump’s tweet on Thursday also came as the president has been pushing for Congress to approve  the USMCA, which would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The president has threatened to scrap NAFTA in order to ramp up pressure on the incoming Democratic House. 

Getting rid of NAFTA without a replacement would likely be a costly endeavor, experts say, sending stock markets plunging. 

Multiple Democrats have expressed concerns about the USMCA, indicating they will put up a fight in the 116th Congress. It could wind up taking months to push the deal through with Democrats assuming the House majority.