Congress to decide on ending Nafta
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will soon notify Congress that he plans to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) agreement with Mexico and Canada in favour of a new regional trade deal, setting up a potential clash on Capitol Hill.
Mr Trump, travelling home from a G-20 summit in Argentina, said that he would give formal notice to Congress on terminating Nafta “within a relatively short period of time”.
That would trigger a six-month waiting period before the US could leave the pact — during that time, US lawmakers would be asked to approve the new deal signed on Friday with America’s neighbours.
Mr Trump says the new pact — known in Washington as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — will help US workers, especially in the auto industry, and better safeguard intellectual property.
“We get rid of Nafta. It’s been a disaster for the United States,” said Mr Trump, who insisted that the agreement, in place for nearly a quarter-century, was a killer of American jobs. “That’ll be terminated so Congress will have a choice of the USMCA or pre-Nafta, which worked very well,” he said.
The signing of USMCA was a victory for Mr Trump, following months of difficult negotiations with Ottawa and Mexico City.
Mr Trump said on Friday that he did not foresee a problem with getting congressional approval, but some Democrats — who will control the US House of Representatives as of January — have expressed scepticism.
Nancy Pelosi, the frontrunner to regain her position as Speaker of the House, on Friday called the deal a “work in progress”.
“What isn’t in it yet are enough enforcement reassurances regarding workers” and the environment, Ms Pelosi said, before going on to say that Mexico had not yet passed a law on wages and working conditions.
The new deal also requires legislative approval in Canada and Mexico.