Trump holds hourlong call with Mexican president

President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto held an hourlong phone discussion on Friday, a day after a scheduled meeting was canceled amid heightened tensions over the U.S. administration’s plans to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The White House said in a statement that the call was “mutually arranged by their teams.” 

“The two had a productive and constructive call regarding the bilateral relationship between the two countries, the current trade deficit the United States has with Mexico, the importance of the friendship between the two nations, and the need for the two nations to work together to stop drug cartels, drug trafficking and illegal guns and arms sales,” the White House statement read.

On the issue of the border wall, the White House said that both leaders have instructed their teams to “continue the dialogue.” 

“[B]oth presidents recognize their clear and very public differences of positions on this issue but have agreed to work these differences out as part of a comprehensive discussion on all aspects of the bilateral relationship,” the statement read.

The Mexican government released a nearly identical statement, with one notable difference: The Mexican statement said the two sides had agreed not to publicly talk about the wall.

Peña Nieto had been scheduled to visit Trump in Washington next week. Those plans changed after Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to begin construction of the wall.

{mosads}White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Thursday a 20 percent tariff could be imposed on Mexican products but later said that was just “an example” of measures the Trump administration could take.

Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Luis Videgaray said it was impossible for the meeting to go on “if the condition to have the meeting was for Mexico to pay for the border wall.”

“This is not about a negotiating strategy. This is about something that goes to Mexico’s history, to Mexicans’ pride,” added Videgaray. 

Updated at 2:28 p.m.