ZCZC
BCN-14
US-CANADA-MEXICO-TRADE-NAFTA
Trump says will formally terminate NAFTA soon
WASHINGTON, Dec 2, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump said Saturday
he will soon notify Congress that he plans to end the NAFTA agreement with
Mexico and Canada in favor of a new regional trade deal, setting up a
potential clash on Capitol Hill.
Trump, traveling home from a G20 summit in Argentina, told reporters aboard
Air Force One 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 neighbors.
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
Trump, who insisted that the North American Free Trade 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,” the Republican president said.
The signing of USMCA was a victory for Trump, following months of tense and
difficult negotiations with Ottawa and Mexico City.
Trump said 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 skepticism.
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, she told a press conference.
“This is not something that we have a piece of paper where we can say yes
or no to it,” said Pelosi, who added that Mexico had not yet passed a law on
wages and working conditions.
The new deal also requires legislative approval in Canada and Mexico.
BSS/AFP/HR/1315