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| Economy |
| Trump announces agreement with Mexico on NAFTA overhaul |
| 2018-08-27 |
| [The Hill] President Trump said Monday the U.S. has reached an agreement with Mexico amid contentious talks on revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trump declared the name "NAFTA" would be scrapped for an updated North American agreement, saying it has "bad connotations." "It’s a big day for trade. It’s a big day for our country," the president told reporters in the Oval Office, who were summoned to watch Trump speak by phone with outgoing Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. Trump cast doubt on whether Canada would be party to a new trade agreement, saying, "We’ll see if Canada can be part of deal." He said the two nations would begin talking "relatively soon." The president said he plans to "terminate" the existing NAFTA agreement and move forward with the new emerging deal with Mexico. If Canada is excluded, it would mark a major shift in U.S. trade policy, which has been guided by NAFTA for the past quarter century. Trump would need Congress to approve the break-up of the three-nation agreement, a move that most on Capitol Hill would likely oppose. A senior White House official said the administration plans to notify lawmakers of the U.S.-Mexico agreement, even if Canada is not yet on board. "Ideally we'll have the Canadians involved," said the official. "If not, we will notify that we have a bilateral agreement and that Canada is welcome to join. We think that satisfies the requirements of the statute." Trump said he wants to call the new deal the "United States-Mexico Trade Agreement," saying "I think's it's an elegant name." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #2 Obama didn't need Congress for his deL with Iran, and they have been at war with us for 40 years. And given the number of Mexican nationals in the US, is this really a foreign treaty? |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2018-08-27 14:40 |
| #1 Trump would need Congress to approve the break-up of the three-nation agreement, a move that most on Capitol Hill would likely oppose. Not enough opportunity for graft. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2018-08-27 14:11 |