Trump Not Pulling Out of NAFTA 'at This Time'

He says he's going to renegotiate trade pact
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 27, 2017 2:46 AM CDT
Updated Apr 27, 2017 6:29 AM CDT
Trump Not Pulling Out of NAFTA 'at This Time'
In this Feb. 13, 2017 photo, President Trump smiles during a White House news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

President Trump will not be adding "scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement" to his list of accomplishments in his first 100 days. After reports that Trump was planning an executive order for US withdrawal from NAFTA, the White House issued a statement Wednesday evening saying Trump has "agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time" and will renegotiate the trade deal instead, the CBC reports. The White House said there were "pleasant and productive" conversations Wednesday afternoon between Trump, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. The statement said the leaders had agreed to "swiftly" renegotiate the deal "to the benefit of all three countries."

"It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up-to-date through renegotiation," Trump said. The New York Times reports that the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar fell against the US dollar amid rumors of a pullout, which followed days of escalating trade disagreements with Canada. If Trump does decide to pull out of NAFTA, which he threatened to do during his campaign if the US couldn't get a better deal, he will need to give six months' notice. Some of Trump's fellow Republicans voiced strong opposition to withdrawal Wednesday, with Nebraska's Sen. Ben Sasse saying "scrapping Nafta would be a disastrously bad idea." (Trump's new tariff on Canadian lumber could add more than $1,000 to the price of new US homes.)

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