President Weighing NAFTA Cancellation

 

President Donald Trump and his advisers are reportedly considering canceling the North American Free Trade Agreement to help push the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement through Congress.

A ProFarmer report says if the move gets made, it may present Congress with a hard choice to make.

Marc Short is a former White House Director of Legislative Affairs who says, “It could be that he withdraws from NAFTA even before USMCA ratification gets to Congress. I think there’s a high probability of that, yes.”

If the U.S. does end up withdrawing from NAFTA, it would take six months to go into effect.

That gives Congress a deadline of six months to either approve USMCA or have tariffs slapped on about $1.3 billion worth of goods traded between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Emily Davis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Trade Representative, says they’re very confident that Congress will eventually approve NAFTA.

“From the beginning, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has worked closely with Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate while renegotiating the agreement,” says Davis Speculation is that the Democratic-controlled House will take up the agreement around March or April.

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