Trump will terminate NAFTA to press Dems into approving new trade deal

President Trump said he will shortly terminate NAFTA, a move that will force House Democrats to approve a new trade deal signed with Mexico and Canada or be left without any agreement.

“I will be formally terminating NAFTA shortly,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One late Saturday as he returned to Washington from the G20 summit in Argentina.

“When I do that, if for any reason we’re unable to make the deal … then Congress will have a choice of approving the USMCA, which is a phenomenal deal,” Trump said, referring to the United States Mexico Canada Agreement.

Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto held a ceremonial signing at the G20 meeting on Friday for the USMCA, which would replace NAFTA that was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994.

If Trump ends NAFTA, Congress would have 60 days to approve USMCA or both trade deals would be void.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Trump’s decision to ditch NAFTA might be premature.

“I think we should see if we can get it passed first,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And I’m going to see how many Democrat votes come on board for this.”

But he wouldn’t go as far as to criticize the president.

“Well, I’m a free trader. I’m a fair trader. I want to be a smart trader,” Barrasso said. “Everything the president has promised, he’s delivered on. And these are going to be helpful to the economy and people at home.”

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who just won reelection and is mulling a presidential run, said he thinks the USMCA needs to be improved to bolster the agreement.

“I understand the president said it’s final,” Brown of Ohio told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The president needs to talk to Congress on this. We can go back to the table with the Mexicans and the Canadians and do stronger labor standards.”
Brown, an opponent of NAFTA, said: “We have to do this right.

“These rules so far don’t get us where we need to get to stop the outsourcing of jobs, to protect the dignity of workers,” he added.

Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto held a ceremonial signing for USMCA at the G-20 meeting on Friday.

The president, who made getting rid of NAFTA one of the signature issues of his campaign, is forcing the hand of Democrats who will take control of the House in January after winning seats in the midterm elections.

He can formally pull out of the pact six months after he notifies Mexico and Canada, whose legislative bodies will also need to ratify the new agreement.

A possible sticking point in getting them to approve the deal are the tariffs on steel and aluminum that Trump imposed on Mexico and Canada.