Trump won’t dump Nafta — yet

washington — US President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico that he will not terminate the Nafta treaty at this stage, but will move quickly to begin renegotiating it with them, a White House said.

The announcement came after White House officials disclosed that Trump and his advisers had been considering issuing an executive order to withdraw the United States from the trade pact with Canada and Mexico, one of the world’s biggest trading blocs. The White House said Trump spoke by telephone with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and that he would hold back from a speedy termination of the Nafta, in what was described as a “pleasant and productive” conversation.

“President Trump agreed not to terminate the 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,” a White House statement said. “It is my privilege to bring the Nafta up to date through renegotiation. It is an honour to deal with both President Pena Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better,” Trump was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Mexican and Canadian currencies rebounded in Asian trading after Trump said the US would stay in the Nafta for now. —