Monday, October 1, 2018

Trump cites 'historic' trade pact with Canada, Mexico

President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for salvaging a trilateral free trade accord with Canada and Mexico, marking it as a victory in his campaign to reshape global commerce as financial markets breathed a sigh of relief.

The deal, announced on Sunday, is a reworking of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, which underpins $1.2 trillion in trade between the three countries.

While changing NAFTA and bringing down U.S. trade deficits was a top Trump campaign pledge, Sunday's agreement largely leaves the broader deal intact and maintains supply chains that would have been fractured under weaker bilateral deals.

He is scheduled to speak to reporters at noon EDT.The pact preserved a key trade dispute settlement mechanism sought by Canada even as Ottawa agreed to open up its dairy markets to U.S. farmers.

The deal effectively maintains the current auto sector and largely spares Canada and Mexico from the prospect of U.S. tariffs on their vehicles, although it will make it harder for global auto makers to build cars cheaply in Mexico.

Trump vowed during his 2016 presidential campaign to tear up current U.S. trade deals, which he blamed for a loss of American manufacturing jobs.

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican who oversees the Senate's agricultural committee, said he was "Eager to review the details" of the deal and noted the outsized role trade with Canada and Mexico had on rural U.S. states like his.


https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/trump-welcomes-canadas-entry-trade-104057060.html

No comments: