Canadaus NAFTA talks end without breakthrough
Trump’s comments on stance on trade pact leaked
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement after the US and Canada failed to agree on a trade deal.
No new deadlines were announced after talks ended on Friday without a deal.
The two sides will resume discussions on Wednesday but the process has been thrown into doubt after an off-the-record comment by Trump became public, suggesting he wouldn’t compromise with Canada.
Trump on Monday announced a preliminary deal with Mexico to replace NAFTA, signed in 1994, and has pressed Canada to join in.
The US is looking to sign a new pact by November 30.
“There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “If we don’t make a fair deal for the US after decades of abuse, Canada will be out.”
He added, “Congress should not interfere w/ these negotiations or I will simply terminate NAFTA entirely & we will be far better off.”
The four-day talks were overshadowed by a leak in the Canadian media of off-the-record comments by Trump that any deal with Canada will have to be “totally on our terms”. While slamming the leak, Trump tweeted: “At least Canada knows where I stand!”
The unresolved differences include Canada’s insistence on retaining NAFTA’S dispute resolution mechanism.