USA TODAY International Edition
US, Mexico strike trade deal for possible NAFTA revision
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Monday the United States and Mexico have reached a new trade deal, paving the way for the possible revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
In an Oval Office announcement, Trump said the new agreement would be called the United States-Mexico trade agreement and would replace NAFTA, which he said had “bad connotations” for the United States.
“It’s a big day for trade,” he said. “It’s a big day for our country.”
Trump said that he intends to terminate NAFTA and that the United States would immediately begin negotiations with Canada, the third party in the trilateral trade pact that he has called the “worst deal ever.”
“If they would like to negotiate fairly, we will do that,” Trump said. He said it’s possible that a separate deal could be reached with Canada.
The United States and Mexico have held five consecutive weeks of talks to revise parts of the NAFTA.
In a phone call with Trump, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto called the deal “something very positive for the United States and Mexico.”
The two nations hope to get a final deal signed before Peña Nieto leaves office Dec. 1. Before the United States can sign the deal, Congress must be given 90 days’ notice. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said a formal notice would be sent to Congress on Friday and the deal would be signed by the end of November.
Peña Nieto repeatedly expressed interest for Canada to be incorporated into the agreement. Trump said the United States would have a deal with Canada “one way or another.”
“It’ll either be a tariff on cars, or it’ll be a negotiated deal,” he said. “Frankly, a tariff on cars is a much easier way to go. Perhaps the other would be much better for Canada.”
In Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s incoming foreign minister under President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said Monday he was pleased to see the United States and Mexico craft a new trade deal, according to Reuters.
“We see the agreement announced today as positive progress . ... In the coming days, we will continue in trilateral negotiations with Canada, which is vital to be able to renew the (trade) pact,” Ebrard said.
Douglas George, the Detroit-based consul general of Canada responsible for Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, sounded upbeat Monday.
“We’re encouraged by the optimism shown by our negotiating partners,” George told the Detroit Free Press on Monday. He declined to comment on the idea of renaming NAFTA.
Negotiators for the United States and Mexico worked over the weekend to iron out remaining differences and strike a deal before Canada is brought back to the table. One of the sticking points in the talks has centered on the so-called auto rules of origin, which dictate that, to avoid tariffs, a certain percentage of an automobile must be built from parts that originated from countries within the NAFTA region.