Trump: I’m ‘Terminating’ NAFTA, Pursuing Trade Deal With Mexico

After several weeks of talks, President Trump announced Monday that he’s “terminating” the North American Free Trade Agreement in favor of a new trade deal with Mexico that will be called the “United States-Mexico Trade Agreement.” “We’ll get rid of the name NAFTA because the United States got hurt by NAFTA,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Monday morning. According to Bloomberg, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said he was “quite hopeful” that Canada would be folded into the agreement. Trump said he would speak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “in a little while” to begin negotiations “almost immediately.” A spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland issued a statement saying that Canada’s signature is “required” for a new NAFTA, and the country would only agree to a deal “that is good for Canada and good for the middle class.” The bilateral deal between the U.S. and Mexico would “require 75 percent of auto content to be made in the United States and Mexico.” Another official said that “40 percent to 45 percent of auto content” will be required to be “made by workers earning at least $16 per hour.”