Posted on 10/01/2018 8:53:40 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
President Trump on Monday took a victory lap after his administration secured a last-minute deal with Canada to salvage the three-nation North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Surrounded by top administration officials in the White House Rose Garden, Trump called the re-worked agreement "the most important trade deal we've ever made by far."
The president said it fulfills his campaign pledge to replace NAFTA, which he called "perhaps the world trade deal ever made."
"Today, we have kept that promise" he said. "Truly historic news for our nation and indeed the world."
Trump claimed the deal validates his hard-line stance on trade and suggested it could improve the U.S.'s leverage in negotiations with China and the European Union.
"Without tariffs, we wouldn't be talking about a deal, ust for those babies out there that keep talking about tariffs," he said.
The announcement represents a significant victory for Trump, who constantly railed against the quarter-century-old trading pact with Mexico and Canada. Stocks rose Monday on news of the agreement.
The new deal will require that 75 percent of components of a car or truck be manufactured in the U.S., Canada or Mexico to qualify for tariff-free status under the deal. It also will require that a significant percentage of the car be produced by workers making at least $16 per hour, a threshold meant to raise wages in Mexico and undercut that country's competitive advantage with U.S. workers.
Canada also made concessions to its dairy program under the last-minute talks that is expected to lead to some increased U.S. exports of certain products to that country.
But critics of the deal said it made only incremental changes to the trade pact and that some new trade restrictions could make U.S. less competitive on the world stage.
The revised agreement will be called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a name Trump sought to make stick.
"It sort of, just, works. USMCA. That'll be the name that 99 percent of the time that we'll be hearing," he said.
Trump affirmed plans to sign the agreement by the end of November, which would begin the process of congressional consideration. Lawmakers are expected to take a vote on the pact sometime next year.
Did I ever tell you I like the way you think?
5.56mm
It isn’t NAFTA anymore you media dolts.
It’s the USMCA.
Trump hasn’t saved NAFTA at all. He replaced it.
He never liked the sound of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
He does however like the sound of the United States Mexico Canada Agreement. So do I.
He’s always thinking of an angle to put the US First.
Take a good look at that agreement name.
He thought of us first. How refreshing for a US President.
and by doing so make it apparent to the American electorate they don’t even want the smell of Democrats in their government.
bttt
Bttt!
Drain the swamp! MAGA!
bump!!
Where are all the free traders who for the past several decades told us the old rip-off trade deals were good for America?
Where are those people?
Excellent!!!
POTUS taking no prisoners, on the road to MAGA and KAG!!
Amen!
President Trump is keeping his promises by acting on his MAGA statement.
Trump takes a deserved victory lap after NAFTA deal.
Hey Boss!
I think you just coined a new logo:
Build the wall, deport them all!!
(I want to hear it at the next Trump Rally)
Dittos!
Did Canada drop the 300% tarif on US dairy products?
To the rest....New Fundraising Quarter began today...time to ante up to keep FR viable
Proud to have made Mississippi the first State to show a donation this quarter (I imagine it is no longer on the top of the new list but it is my first order of business the beginning of each month).
Conservatives own their opinions because they invest in them...MAGA!!!
Yes! Glorious Day!
Many More MAGA DAYS Ahead With President Trump!
Thank you for the ping!
Amen!
For one thing, it gets the name North American off it.
We are not a three-nation conglomerate. We are a sovereign nation, and so are Mexico and Canada.
I’m pretty happy about the USMCA.
There have been changes made for the better.
He said he was going to renegotiate NAFTA. That’s all I expected him to do, and he has done it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.