Mexico Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo has expressed skepticism the Trump administration intends to act on a proposal to tax imports from Mexico.
Guajardo, who has been meeting with US officials to discuss trade issues between the two countries, said the issue does not appear to enjoy widespread support among Trump’s staff.
“I have spoken with many of the president’s advisors and I haven’t found any uniformity in the thinking in terms of a tax on imports,” he told reporters in Mexico City. “I’m not certain it will end up in the proposal.”
Trump has vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), under which Mexico sends 80% of its exports to the US. Some House Republicans have put forward a proposal that would impose a 20% tax on Mexican imports to the US, an idea White House officials have suggested could be a way to pay for Trump’s plan to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
Trump has not publicly mentioned the wall after he spoke with President Enrique Peña Nieto during an hour-long telephone call last month. The Mexican government said at the time the two leaders agreed to hold off on making public comments about the wall while the two countries hold talks on trade, security and other issues.