MEXICO never agreed to buy more U.S. farm products as part of a deal reached late Friday on border security and illegal immigration that averted the threat of U.S. tariffs, said three Mexican officials, contradicting a claim made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump on Saturday told his 61 million Twitter followers in an all-caps message that Mexico had agreed to “immediately begin buying large quantities of agricultural product from our great patriot farmers.”

But the communique issued late Friday by the U.S. State Department — the U.S.-Mexico Joint Declaration — made no mention of agricultural trade as part of the agreement.

The State Department didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry through its press department. The Mexican foreign ministry’s press office declined to comment.

Mexico is already a large buyer of U.S. farm goods, including corn, soybeans, pork and dairy products.

It had given no indication of attempting to find alternative suppliers during the one-week standoff over Trump’s proposed steep tariffs on Mexican goods.

Increasing Mexico’s purchases from the United States wasn’t discussed during the three days of talks in Washington that led up to Friday’s agreement, said the three people with knowledge of the deliberations.

Mexico has no state-owned agricultural conglomerate to buy food products or handle distribution, or a government program that could buy farm equipment for delivery to producers.

Trump earlier Friday suggested the talks were covering trade in agriculture, and not just border security issues as members of his administration had said — and that the State Department communique listed. If a deal was made, Trump said at the time, “they will begin purchasing farm and agricultural products at very high levels.”

Trump on Saturday was fundraising on the back of the Mexican agreement.

Farm states, among the strongest of Trump’s supporters, have been hit hard by Trump’s trade war against China, and the threat of additional action against Mexico had some farm-state senators up in arms. (SD-Agencies)