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Trump administration officials on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 2016-2018
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In his contract with American voters—the ”100-day action plan to Make America Great Again”—President Donald Trump said that he would "announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205." Article 2205 of NAFTA allowed the parties of the agreement to modify it with the consent of the other members or to withdraw after giving six months' notice. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump was expected to push for changes to the agreement and only pull out of it if the other nations did not agree to the changes.[1][2]
What is NAFTA? The North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, was an agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States to eliminate trade barriers and promote trade competition between the three nations. Provisions of the agreement included the elimination of trade duties on many goods, reductions in tariffs, intellectual property enforcement, and agreements for favorable treatment of investors from these three nations. NAFTA came into effect on January 1, 1994, and superseded a prior trade agreement between the United States and Canada, the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement. In addition to this agreement, two side agreements were passed to address other concerns: the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation.[3]
Trump administration on NAFTA
President Donald Trump on NAFTA
- On April 23, 2018, Trump wrote in a tweet, "Mexico, whose laws on immigration are very tough, must stop people from going through Mexico and into the U.S. We may make this a condition of the new NAFTA Agreement. Our Country cannot accept what is happening! Also, we must get Wall funding fast."[4]
- During an interview with The Wall Street Journal on January 14, 2018, Trump was asked if he was considering withdrawing from NAFTA. Trump said, “If we don’t make the right deal, I will terminate Nafta. OK? Now, do I want to? No, I’d rather leave it, but I feel that if that if—you know, the United States has been treated very, very badly. That has been a terrible agreement for us, and if we don’t make a good deal for our country—we lose $71 billion in trade deficits with Mexico. We lose $17 billion with Canada. If we don’t make a fair deal for the United States and the United States taxpayer, then I will terminate it.”[5]
- During a speech at the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention, on January 8, 2018, Trump discussed NAFTA, saying, “To level the playing field for our great American exporters — our farmers and ranchers, as well as our manufacturers — we are reviewing all of our trade agreements to make sure they are fair and reciprocal — reciprocal, so important. On NAFTA, I am working very hard to get a better deal for our country and for our farmers and for our manufacturers. It’s under negotiation as we speak. (Applause.) But think of it: When Mexico is making all of that money, when Canada is making all of that money, it’s not the easiest negotiation. But we’re going to make it fair for you people again.”[6]
- During an interview with the Associated Press on April 24, 2017, Trump said, “I am very upset with NAFTA. I think NAFTA has been a catastrophic trade deal for the United States, trading agreement for the United States. It hurts us with Canada, and it hurts us with Mexico. Most people don't even think of NAFTA in terms of Canada. You saw what happened yesterday in my statements, because if you look at the dairy farmers in Wisconsin and upstate New York, they are getting killed by NAFTA.” When asked if he would renegotiate NAFTA, Trump said, “I am going to either renegotiate it or I am going to terminate it. … If they don't treat fairly, I am terminating NAFTA.” When asked what the timeline was for terminating NAFTA, Trump said, “It's a six-month termination clause, I have the right to do it, it's a six-month clause.”[7]
- On February 13, 2017, during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump discussed his plans for NAFTA, saying, “We’ll be tweaking it. We’ll be doing certain things that are going to benefit both of our countries. Our relationship with Canada is outstanding." Trump added that the trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada was better than the relationship with Mexico. He said, “It’s a much less severe situation then what’s taken place on the southern border. For many, many years, the transaction was not fair to the United States. We’re going to work with Mexico. We’re going to make it a fair deal for both parties.”[8]
- Trade reform was listed as one of Trump's major initiatives, according to his presidential transition website.
| “ | Free trade is good as long as it is fair trade. American workers are the best in the world. On a level playing field, we can compete, and win. Yet, too many American jobs have been lost over the last decade because of trade deals that do not put Americans first. Factories have closed and jobs have moved overseas because the government has imposed crushing regulations and taxes, while it negotiated trade deals that incentivized American companies to make things abroad, where environmental and labor protections are minimal and wages are low. The Trump Administration will reverse decades of policies that have pushed jobs out of our country. The new Administration will make it more desirable for companies to stay, create jobs here, pay taxes here, and rebuild our economy. Our workers and the communities that support them will thrive again, as more and more companies compete to set up manufacturing in the U.S., to hire our young people and give them hope and a real shot at prosperity again. America will become, once more, a destination for jobs, production and innovation and will once more show economic leadership in the world.[9] | ” |
| —President Donald Trump[10] | ||
- On December 5, 2016, Anthony Scaramucci, a senior advisor on the Trump transition team, discussed Trump's stance on NAFTA. He said, “I don’t think we’re looking to rip up NAFTA as much as we are looking to right-size it and make it fairer. He’s got a great relationship, by the way, with the Mexican president. They talk regularly. ... I don’t think anybody in the administration from the top to the bottom is looking for protectionism. We understand the economic harm and the impact that would take. I don’t think anybody in the administration is looking for quote-unquote tariffs, but I think they are a cudgel, if you will, to lay out there if we can’t get the trade deals to be right-sided to now benefit the American people.”[11]
During the 2016 presidential election, Trump advocated for fair trade and called NAFTA a disaster. On September 27, 2015, he said, “We will either renegotiate it or we will break it because you know every agreement has an end."[12][13] Click here to read more of Trump's public comments on NAFTA and international trade before and during the 2016 presidential election.
Vice President Mike Pence on NAFTA
As a member of Congress and governor of Indiana, Pence supported NAFTA and TPP. After speaking with Trump, he decided that multinational trade deals were not beneficial to Americans. Click here to read more of Pence's public comments on the TPP before and during the 2016 presidential election.
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on NAFTA
- During his confirmation hearing, Ross said, “As to Canada and Mexico, the president-elect has made no secret in his public remarks, nor have I, that NAFTA is logically the first thing for us to deal with. We ought to solidify relationships in the best way we can in our own territory before we go off into other jurisdictions.”[14]
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
- On April 18, 2018, Perdue criticized China’s decision to impose duties on U.S. sorghum imports. He said, “The international grain market is about the freest market there is, and it is ludicrous to even mention ‘dumping,’ because China can buy product from anywhere they choose. This is clearly a political decision by the Chinese and we reject their premise. Our sorghum producers are the most competitive in the world and we do not believe there is any basis in fact for these actions. As we explore options, we are in communication with the American sorghum industry and stand united with them. The fact remains that China has engaged in unfair trade practices over decades and President Trump is correct in holding them accountable. We remain committed to protecting American agricultural producers in the face of retaliatory measures by the Chinese.”[15]
- On March 28, 2018, Perdue praised the modifications to the U.S.-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). He said, “I applaud President Trump, Ambassador Lighthizer, and the U.S. trade team for partnering with the Republic of Korea to modernize KORUS and protect the strong agricultural components that were built into the pact. Korea has long been an important trading partner for U.S. agriculture and currently ranks as our 6th-highest value market. U.S. agricultural exports to the country have increased 95 percent over the past decade and we look forward to continued growth. Through this new agreement in principle, progress was also made with regard to Korea’s customs verification procedures, which have been a substantial concern related to exports of U.S. agricultural and industrial goods.”[16]
- On January 8, 2018, while speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual convention in Nashville, Tenn., Perdue urged Canada to complete an update to NAFTA. He said, "To get a deal we need all sides to seriously roll up our sleeves and get to work. We have put a number of proposals on the table to modernize NAFTA, and critically for agriculture, to address key sectors left out of the original agreement — dairy and poultry tariffs in Canada. Now we want to see our negotiating partners step up and engage so we can get the deal done."[17]
See also
- Federal policy on trade, 2017-2020
- 115th Congress on trade (2017-2018)
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal: An overview
- North American Free Trade Agreement
- Trump administration officials on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Trans-Pacific Partnership
Footnotes
- ↑ Donald Trump, "Donald Trump’s Contract with the American Voter," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Donald Trump Poised to Pressure Mexico on Trade," November 21, 2016
- ↑ NAFTA Secretariat, "North American Free Trade Agreement," accessed November 22, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Donald J. Trump," April 23, 2018
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Transcript of Donald Trump Interview With The Wall Street Journal," January 14, 2018
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Remarks by President Trump to the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention," January 8, 2018
- ↑ Associated Press, "Transcript of AP interview with Trump," April 24, 2017
- ↑ The Hill, "Trump: ‘We’ll be tweaking’ NAFTA," accessed February 13, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ GreatAgain.gov, "Trade," accessed November 19, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Transition official: Trump will not rip up NAFTA," accessed December 6, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Trump threatens to 'break' trade pact with Mexico, Canada," September 26, 2015
- ↑ Breitbart, "Donald Trump: American Needs 'fair trade,' not 'free trade,'" September 27, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Wilbur Ross Vows to Push Trump’s Trade Agenda, Starting With Nafta," accessed February 9, 2017
- ↑ USDA.gov, "Secretary Perdue Statement Regarding Chinese Duties on U.S. Sorghum," April 18, 2018
- ↑ USDA.gov, "Secretary Perdue Statement on Agreement in Principle on KORUS," March 28, 2018
- ↑ The Hill, "Perdue calls on Canada to fully engage in NAFTA talks," January 8, 2018
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