After just a week in office Donald Trump has provoked a diplomatic and trade war with Mexico.
Determined to wall off America's border with its southern neighbour, Trump triggered a diplomatic clash and a fight over trade as the White House proposed a 20 per cent tax on imports from the key US ally, prompting Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to abruptly scrap a planned trip to Washington.
The swift fallout signalled a remarkable souring of relations between Washington and one of its most important international partners just days into the new administration.
At the heart of the dispute is Trump's insistence that Mexico will pay for construction of the massive wall he has formally ordered along the southern US border.
The plan was a centrepiece of Trump's election campaign, though he never specified how Mexico would fund the project or how he would compel payments if Pena Nieto's government refused.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
The two leaders had been scheduled to discuss the matter at the White House next week. But Pena Nieto took to Twitter on Thursday to say he had informed the White House he would not be coming.
In a speech in Philadelphia later on Thursday, Trump said that "unless Mexico is going to treat the United States fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless, and I want to go a different route. We have no choice."
On the flight back to Washington, Trump's spokesman told reporters the president was considering the 20 per cent import tax to foot the bill, the most specific proposal Trump has ever floated for how to cover a project estimated to cost between $US12 billion and $US15 billion.
Spicer said Trump was looking at taxing imports on all countries the US has trade deficits with, but he added, "Right now we are focused on Mexico."
The announcement sparked immediate confusion across Washington, and the White House tried to backtrack. During a hastily arranged briefing in the West Wing, chief of staff Reince Priebus said a 20 per cent import tax was one idea in "a buffet of options" to pay for the border wall.
Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray said. "A tax on Mexican imports to the United States is not a way to make Mexico pay for the wall, but a way to make the North American consumer pay for it through more expensive avocados, washing machines, televisions."
