Trump Administration Makes A Surprising About Face On NAFTA A draft letter to Congress from acting U.S. Trade Representative Stephen Vaughn suggested that the Trump administration might soften its approach to negotiations with Mexico and Canada....... In its current form, the letter is essentially “an attempt to make NAFTA more like the TPP,” said Simon Lester, a trade expert at the libertarian Cato Institute. “The persistent U.S. deficit in goods trade with Canada and Mexico demands that this administration take swift action to revise the relationship to reflect and respond to new 21st century challenges,” the letter said.