Trump will examine NAFTA until after November

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that he intended to postpone the signing of a revised version of the North American Free Trade Agreement. (NAFTA) after the mid-term elections. mandate, November 6, saying that in this way, he wants to reach a better agreement with Mexico and Canada.

In an interview broadcast Sunday, Trump said that he could quickly sign an agreement with the two US neighbors, "but I'm not happy about it, I want it to be fairer." When asked about the appropriate time to reach an agreement, Trump said, "I want to wait until after the elections."

Trump's decision to postpone NAFTA negotiations comes as the United States and Canada have been involved in a trade dispute over tariffs that Trump applied for the first time to the United States. 39, steel and steel. aluminum from Canada and other countries. Canada announced retribution tariffs against the United States on Friday worth billions of dollars, but the US president said trade talks could continue.

In the interview with the program Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo of the Fox news channel, Trump again threatened to impose tariffs on imports of cars, trucks and auto parts, saying: Cars are big. "The move was seen as a possible bargaining tactic to resume the NAFTA negotiations, which could begin after Sunday's elections in Mexico.

If the United States went ahead with new tariffs on car imports, it would affect the Canadian economy, because of the critical nature of the auto industry in the country. The US Department of Commerce is expected to hold hearings on auto rates by the end of July and complete its investigation of car imports by the end of summer.

Trump tried to renegotiate NAFTA to encourage US manufacturers to invest more in the country, moving production from Mexico, where they pay much lower wages. The talks failed on several issues, such as Trump's insistence on a clause that would end the NAFTA every five years, unless the three countries agree to retain it.

The US president said he could seek separate trade agreements with Canada and Mexico instead of continuing with a tripartite agreement, but any modified agreement should be debated in Congress. Negotiators did not respect the deadline for concluding negotiations in mid-May to allow legislators to analyze it before the November elections.

Trump opposed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the subject of trade. After leaving the G7 meetings in Quebec City last month, the US President tweeted that Trudeau was "weak" and "dishonest".

Trump and Trudeau spoke by telephone Friday night after Canada announced that it would impose its own tariffs in retaliation for the new US trade accusations against steel and aluminum imports. Mr. Trudeau's office stated that the Prime Minister "has indicated that Canada has no choice but to announce reciprocal countermeasures" to US tariffs.