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"Without tariffs, we would not talk about an agreement," Trump said. "Just for babies talking about rates – this includes Congress," Please do not charge rates "- without rates, we would not be here."
The US and Canadian authorities reached an agreement on Sunday night, a month after the United States negotiated an agreement with Mexico and Trump threatened to exclude Canada from the tripartite framework.
"For me, the fact that we got a good deal is proof that the President's approach is the right approach.The right approach is.If you do not want to withdraw from an agreement, one, no?" Lighthizer told reporters after Trump's Rose Garden press conference.
Trump, who has long fought against NAFTA, once again described the original deal as "the worst trade deal ever made" and describes the new US-Mexico agreement – the USMCA – as a boon to American farmers. and improve labor standards.
"The factories were leaving, jobs were leaving, people were being fired," said Trump, describing the old agreement. "We have negotiated this new agreement based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.For me, it's the most important word in the trade."
"This new agreement will be the most modern, the most modern and the most balanced trade agreement in the history of our country, with the most advanced protections for workers," Trump told reporters. A speech in the Rose Garden.
Always mindful of the brand, Trump praised the new name "USMCA".
"It sounds good," said Trump.
Will Congress approve?
The agreement represents the fulfillment of a signing campaign promise and the conclusion of an agreement that just days ago seemed to have collapsed, threatening the free framework. North American exchange of several decades.
But Trump already seems preoccupied by the fate of his new trade agreement, hesitating to say that he believes that the trade agreement "will pass easily" and that he fears that politics does not prevent it.
"I intend to sign the agreement before the end of November, and then submit it to Congress for approval, where in theory there should be no problem – but everything you submit to Congress is problematic," he said. Trump. . "This is the biggest deal ever signed, but they will say," Trump likes it so we will not approve it because it will be good for Republicans, so we do not can not approve it. ""
He later added that he "was not at all confident," saying the Democrats "might be willing to launch one of the best deals for the people and the workers – they could willing to do so for political purposes ".
Trump's US sales representative, however, said he thinks the deal will pass the vote up and down in Congress "with a substantial majority".
"I think it's going to come through, and I think it's going to go through with a substantial majority," Lighthizer said, pointing to improving labor standards and protecting the environment that Democrats will appreciate.
How did it come
Negotiations between the United States and Canada did not seem to go quickly when Trump again warned last week that he was ready to exclude Canada from a renegotiated agreement under NAFTA. .
"It will probably be or maybe just USM, it will be the United States and Mexico," Trump said at a press conference Wednesday, a few days before Sunday 's deadline.
But on Friday morning, Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, received a call from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford, and senior advisor Gerald Butts, eager to reach an agreement. close to the negotiations said.
The phone call sparked a series of telephone negotiations over the weekend with US and US representatives Kushner and the US Trade Representative, and the direct involvement of Trudeau's most trusted advisors.
US, Canadian and Mexican officials have been working on the renegotiation of NAFTA for much of Trump's presidency, but the US has begun negotiating separately with Mexican and Canadian officials in recent months.
At the end of last month, the United States reached an agreement with Mexico and decided to bring Canada into the fold, Trump threatening to exclude Canada and to conclude a bilateral agreement between the United States and Mexico.
Weeks later, both parties struggled to overcome significant blocking points, but sources credited the Trudeau councilors' call to Canadians to implement the weed negotiations in good faith to revive negotiations with Foreign. Chrystia Freeland Secretary.
Trump was briefed on the discussions and commented on the weekend negotiations from Friday to Sunday.
But it is Kushner's close relationship with Telford that makes the sources believe that they have brought the United States and Canada to this breakthrough.
This is not the first time that Kushner's involvement has pushed the negotiations beyond their most difficult points. Kushner played a similar role with Mexico. In that case, his close relationship was with Luis Videgeray, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs, who helped bring these talks to fruition.
Kushner and Lighthizer later said Monday that Trump was deeply involved throughout the negotiation process with Canada and Mexico.
Lighthizer recounted that Trump frequently called him to question him about the detailed provisions of the agreement throughout the negotiations.
"There is no president I believe who has ever known the details of an agreement like this president," Lighthizer said. "I mean, I would get calls about things … he was fully engaged, he knew things."
