U.S. President-elect Trump says Mexico will pay for border wall

President-elect Donald Trump says he'll begin negotiations with Mexico on funding his promised wall along the southern border immediately after he takes office.

Trump's team and Republicans in Congress have been discussing a plan in which American taxpayers would initially cover the costs of the wall.

Trump says that's because he wants to get it started fast.

He asks, "What's the difference? I want to get the wall started."

He adds that, "Mexico will pay for the wall, but it will be reimbursed."

Trump is also pushing back on reports that his wall could wind up becoming more of a fence.

He insists, "It's not a fence, it's a wall. We're going to build a wall."

Donald Trump also is recommitting to plans to impose a border tax on manufacturers who shutter plants and move production abroad.

Trump says at a Wednesday news conference: "There will be a major border tax on these companies that are leaving and getting away with murder."

Border taxes may help retain jobs, but they carry the risk of increasing prices for consumers.

The president-elect has been meeting with chief executives and touting commitments by United Technologies and others to keep jobs in the United States. Such moves have done little so far to move the dial on job growth for the broader U.S. economy, although Trump stressed that he was using these deals to set a new tone that offshoring would be penalized.

Trump says: "What really is happening is the word is now out."