Trump again threatens to leave Canada out of new NAFTA deal [View all]

[TomCADem]

Source: CNN

(CNN)President Donald Trump again threatened to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement if Canada doesn't concede to new terms.

In a Saturday morning tweet, Trump said there is "no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal," referring to the tentative bilateral agreement the United States reached with Mexico earlier this week.

"If we don't make a fair deal for the U.S. after decades of abuse,Canada will be out," Trump said. He also urged Congress not to "interfere" with negotiations "or I will simply terminate NAFTA entirely & we will be far better off."

The United States and Mexico announced a preliminary bilateral trade deal on Monday after resolving an issue over auto manufacturing. Canadian officials rejoined the talks this week.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/01/politics/nafta-trump-canada-mexico-deal/index.html

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Talk about mixed messages. In some recent reports, the White House has been assuring Congressional leaders that they are not going to scrap NAFTA or ditch Canada, which opens him up to attacks from Bernie Sanders regarding Trump's promises to trash NAFTA. However, today, Trump once again promises to tear up NAFTA. Perhaps the pressure from Bernie is getting to him.

Bernie Sanders Tells Trump to Keep His Promise on Nafta

Civil-society groups, union leaders and left-wing politicians have opposed almost everything Trump has done. But they’re urging him to stand firm in his attempt to overhaul Nafta -- and face down opposition from business groups, who complain that U.S. companies will be hurt by the proposed changes. Mexico and Canada have called U.S. demands unworkable, including on regional-content requirements for cars and investor-state dispute systems.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an outspoken critic of trade deals in his campaign for president last year, called on Trump to deliver. “When Donald Trump campaigned for president, he promised that he was going to stop corporations from shifting American jobs to Mexico,” Sanders said Wednesday at a rally for the #ReplaceNafta movement in Washington. “For once in your life, keep your promises.”

Many pro-trade Republicans oppose the most contentious U.S. proposals, which the administration says will lure manufacturing back to America. Trump may need votes from the left if he hopes to pass a revised Nafta. That means courting organizations such as advocacy group Public Citizen, which opposes much of Trump’s agenda, including his views on climate change and bank regulations. However, the non-profit is tentatively backing several U.S. positions at the negotiating table, including a push to eliminate tribunals that arbitrate disputes between governments and companies.