Donald Trump said terminating the North American Free Trade Agreement is still on the table if he is unable to strike a “fair deal” for the United States.
After reports surfaced that the president was considering stating his intent to exit NAFTA in an executive order, the president told the leaders of Mexico and Canada Wednesday night that the U.S. will renegotiate the agreement rather than leave it altogether.
Trump explained why Thursday.
“I decided rather than terminating NAFTA, which would be a pretty big, you know, shock to the system, we will renegotiate,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Now, if I’m unable to make a fair deal, if I’m unable to make a fair deal for the United States, meaning a fair deal for our workers and our companies, I will terminate NAFTA. But we’re going to give renegotiation a good, strong shot.”
When a reporter asked when Trump would renegotiate the agreement, he said, “It’ll start very soon. It’s actually starting today.”
He echoed his sentiment about renegotiating the deal on Twitter earlier Thursday morning.
I received calls from the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada asking to renegotiate NAFTA rather than terminate. I agreed..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2017
…subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA. Relationships are good-deal very possible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2017