Trump says US won’t leave NAFTA – for now:

PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said he has told the leaders of Mexico and Canada that he will not pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at this time, but could still withdraw if he concludes a renegotiated pact is not “a fair deal for all”.

Trump tweeted early Thursday that he has agreed to remain a partner in the muchdiscussed trade agreement in calls he received from Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The White House released a statement late Wednesday saying only that Trump had assured the two leaders in phone conversations that the US would not withdraw from NAFTA at this time.

In his Twitter post, Trump called America’s relationships with the two hemispheric neighbours “very good” and said the prospects of a renegotiated deal are “very possible.” But he also said that his consent to remaining in NAFTA for now is “subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA”.

The White House statement said, “President Trump agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries.”

The statement came hours after administration officials said Trump was considering a draft executive order to withdraw the US from the deal — though administration officials cautioned it was just one of a number of options being discussed by the president and his staff.