Trump Floats Terminating NAFTA, Warns Congress Not To Interfere With Negotiations
In a series of tweets published Saturday morning, President Trump floated terminating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and warned U.S. Congress not to interfere with the negotiations, Reuters news agency reports.
“There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal,” Trump tweeted, adding that the U.S. has been “abused” for decades. The POTUS also warned Congress not to interfere with the negotiations, threatening to “terminate NAFTA entirely.”
He then went on to call NAFTA “one of the worst trade deals ever made.”
“We were far better off before NAFTA – should never have been signed,” the POTUS tweeted.
This is not the first time for Trump to express distaste for multilateral trade agreements. As the Inquisitr reported yesterday, following Trump’s comments about the World Trade Organization (WTO), and threats of pulling out of the international free trade body, Roberto Azevedo, the WTO’s director general, suggested that world economy would descend into chaos, if the U.S. was to exit the deal.
Echoing WTO comments, Trump attacked NAFTA today, again, only going a step further this time, threatening to terminate the deal.
As BBC reported, U.S.-Canada trade talks fell through yesterday, in part thanks to the president’s off-the-record comments made in an interview with Bloomberg. Trump’s remarks were later leaked by the Canadian press, contributing to the breaking up of talks between the U.S., and its northern neighbor. Trump acknowledged the comments in a tweet, exclaiming “At least Canada knows where I stand!”
Trump says Canada not needed in NAFTA deal, warns Congress not to interfere https://t.co/LnI9ODg6F1
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 1, 2018
According to Reuters, after Trump notified Congress of his intent to sign a bilateral deal with Mexico, U.S. lawmakers warned that the deal could struggle to win approval from Congress unless Canada was included too. But, judging by President Trump’s most recent Twitter comments, there is no going back, and Canada will no longer be considered for taking part in the new and revamped NAFTA agreement.
There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal. If we don’t make a fair deal for the U.S. after decades of abuse, Canada will be out. Congress should not interfere w/ these negotiations or I will simply terminate NAFTA entirely & we will be far better off…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2018
….Remember, NAFTA was one of the WORST Trade Deals ever made. The U.S. lost thousands of businesses and millions of jobs. We were far better off before NAFTA – should never have been signed. Even the Vat Tax was not accounted for. We make new deal or go back to pre-NAFTA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2018
Evidently, President Trump continues to maintain a hardline stance against Canada, at least when it comes to trade. On Monday, as reported by CBS News, Trump threatened to slap tariffs on Canadian-made cars.
“I think with Canada, frankly, the easiest thing we can do is to tariff their cars coming in,” the POTUS said. About 10 percent of cars sold in the U.S. are made, along with auto parts, in Canada, CBS News noted. Therefore, the tariffs would disrupt the American auto industry, cause price hikes of up to 25 percent, and create production disruptions.
According to NPR, Trump’s Canada comments shocked Canadian politicians who remain unnerved by Trump’s determination to impose his will on Canada.
“We have here, a president who in his public utterances is completely disconnected from the truth,” Gordon Ritchie, Canada’s former ambassador for trade negotiations, told NPR.
U.S.-Canada talks will resume next week.
