US and Mexico agree to new Nafta
The United States has reached a trade deal with Mexico, opening the way for Canada to rejoin talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement, although the deal may be struck under a different name.
US President Donald Trump announced the deal in a hastily arranged Oval Office event yesterday, with the Mexican president joining in on a conference call.
Mr Trump praised the deal, saying he will ditch Nafta, replacing it with the new agreement. “We’re going to call it the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement,” he said. Nafta “has a bad connotation because the United States was hurt very badly by Nafta for many years”.
He also suggested Canada could join the agreement, or the US and Canada could strike a separate bilateral deal, saying he will speak to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “in a little while”.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto reiterated in a tweet his intention for Canada to come back to talks to complete a trilateral deal this week, announcing he had spoken to the Canadian prime minister.
No deal has yet been finalised with Canada, and the northern
Donald Trump announced the deal in a hastily arranged Oval Office event, with the Mexican president on a phone call
neighbour has been on the sidelines of talks since July as Mexico and the US focused on settling differences.
A spokesman for the Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland issued a statement warning against jumping to conclusions, according to Bloomberg.
“Canada’s signature is required,” spokesman Adam Austen said. “We will only sign a new Nafta that is good for Canada and good for the middle class and we will continue to work toward a modernised Nafta.”
Earlier, Mr Trump tweeted that a “big deal” with Mexico is “looking good” without elaborating further.
The Mexican peso rose ahead of Mr Trump’s remarks, and US stocks also advanced.
He said Mexico will start purchasing farm products as soon as possible, and the deal was “very special” for manufacturers and farmers.
Talks to update Nafta began a year ago, but recently they have just been held between the US and Mexico. Mr Trump says the deal has led to hundreds of thousands of lost American jobs, and he was elected on promises to either change Nafta to be more favourable to the US, or withdraw.