“There are things that are not negotiable, things that cannot and will not be negotiated. The fact that it is being said that Mexico should pay for the wall is something that is simply not negotiable,” Videgaray said during a press conference at the Mexican embassy in Washington.
Holding true to his campaign promise, Trump on Wednesday ordered US officials to begin to design and construct a wall along the 3 200km US-Mexico border.
The White House has since then floated the idea of a 20% tax on Mexican imports to cover the cost of the wall, but later backtracked and called it just one idea among many.
Such a tax, Videgaray said Thursday, would only harm Americans.
“Here in the United States avocados, washing machines, televisions, many things that North American families like to buy and that are expensive, would cost more,” he said.
