Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim: Trump a ‘great negotiator’

Mexico’s richest man is urging his fellow citizens to unite behind the Mexican government in its negotiations with President Trump, Reuters reports.

In a rare news conference on Friday, telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim called Trump a “great negotiator” and said “the circumstances in the United States are very favorable to Mexico.”

But he also said that Mexico would have to negotiate from a position of strength, and argued the country would be okay if it withdrew from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Slim’s comments came a day after Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a scheduled meeting with Trump amid tension between the two countries over Trump’s proposed border wall.

{mosads}The two men spoke in an hourlong phone call on Friday.

Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday authorizing construction of the wall, which he has insisted Mexico will pay for. Peña Nieto has dismissed that idea, saying that the country will not pay for “anything that goes against our dignity as a country and our dignity as Mexicans.”

Trump has also vowed to renegotiate NAFTA.