The North American Free Trade Agreement may soon be no more — at least, as far as the U. S. is concerned.
The North American Free Trade Agreement may soon be no more — at least, as far as the U. S. is concerned.
Two government sources on Wednesday told Reuters that Canada increasingly believes President Trump plans to pull the plug on NAFTA.
It’s not clear what U. S. withdrawal from the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico would do for the American economy — or what the immediate impact would be on goods and services for domestic consumers.
The two government sources told Reuters that Canadian officials suspect President Trump will make the move in late January.
Auto Industry to Washington Pols: Keep NAFTA in place
That’s when negotiators from all three countries are going to meet for their sixth and next-to-last sit-down on ways to upgrade and improve the 1992 treaty.
The Canadian and Mexican currencies both weakened against the U. S. dollar after the news, Reuters said.
But there’s more to a NAFTA withdrawal than a Presidential declaration.
For one thing, Congress would have to approve such a move — and that’s unlikely.
The end of NAFTA? For car buyers, that means higher prices
Canadian officials hinted they would also view such a declaration as a negotiating tactic to try and win concessions, rather than a serious plan to yank America out of NAFTA.
President Trump, who railed against NAFTA as one of the worst trade deals ever on the campaign trail, has said that major changes are needed to make the trade treaty more fair to the U. S.
But at the same time, Canada and Mexico have rejected most of the U. S. proposals for NAFTA reforms, Reuters said.
That leaves all three sides with large differences to reconcile when they meet in Montreal Jan. 23 to begin a week of talks.
Canadian, U. S. unions push for wage hike amid NAFTA talks
Negotiations are due to wrap up at the end of March.
With News Wire Services
