In another huge victory and true to his word, President Trump signed on Friday a new trilateral trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada to replace the nearly three decades old disastrous North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed in 1994.
https://youtu.be/yJzwtKw4feo
The new trade pact dubbed US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed at the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina put a final nail to NAFTA, a trade deal blamed for the loss of millions of American jobs and contributing to a hollowing out of the manufacturing industry.
The United States, Mexico and Canada signed a new trade pact at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday November 20, 2018. Credit: REUTERS
In signing the USMCA, Trump also fulfilled another major election campaign promise to revamp “the worst deal ever made” in human history and which he had blamed for the hastened demise of the the world’s once leading manufacturing industry.
President Donald Trump (C) and Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto (L) discuss during signing ceremony for the new US-Mexico-Canada trade pact at the G20 summit on Friday, November 30, 2018. Credit: Reuters
United States, Mexico and Canada signed a new trade pact at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday November 20, 2018. Credit: REUTERS
“The USMCA is the largest, most significant modern and balanced trade agreement in history. All of our countries will benefit greatly. It is probably the largest trade deal ever made,” remarked President Trump during the signing ceremony.
“In short…this is an agreement that first and foremost benefits working people, something of great importance to all three of us here today,” he added.
President Trump and Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto sign a new trilateral trade pact while Canadian Prime Minister looks on in Buenos Aires on Friday, November 30, 2018. Credit: REUTERS
U.S. President Donald Trump (C) flanked by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (L) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed a new U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the first day of the G20 summit on Friday, November 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Credit: Reuters
Calling it a “model agreement that changes the trade landscape forever,” President Trump acknowledged that the path to the final deal had not been easy.
“It’s been long and hard,” he said after the signing ceremony. “We’ve taken a lot barbs and a little abuse and we got there. It’s great for all of our countries.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1068516326010830849
Although the landmark signing ceremony timed to coincide with the last day of Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto presidency was a formality, it is important to note that legislators of all three countries still require to approve and ratify the pact for it to officially become law, go into effect and eventually replace NAFTA.
President Trump with Canadian Prime Minister during the signing ceremony of the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Friday, November 30, 2018. Credit: AP
President Trump and his Trade Team are hopeful that this will easily pass the U.S. Congress as it was negotiated to be a partisan agreement.
“It’s been so well reviewed I don’t expect to have very much of a problem,” Trump said of the incoming Democrats who will take over the House in January.
The signing of the U.S-Mexico-Canada trade pact came after more than 24 months of intense and contentious negotiations between the countries and that continued down to the wire to the day of the signing.
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