The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that President Donald Trump's aim
of "tweaking" the North American free-trade agreement suggests he
will make small changes rather than start
a full renegotiation.
The Globe's Adrian Morrow writes that a complete overhaul of the
pact would be an arduous process
for Mr. Trump,
stretching for years and requiring
the sign-off of a Congress that
could put several demands on
the White House in exchange for
its approval.
Mr. Trump could instead opt
for more limited agreements
with Canada and Mexico on such
things as labour standards or
rules of origin -- allowing him to
claim victory on his campaign
promise to get better trade deals,
while avoiding the political costs
of a protracted NAFTA overhaul.
The Trump administration, however,
has laid out no specific plan on
how it will proceed. A White
House spokesman said Tuesday
the administration has
"no further comment on NAFTA
at this time," when asked what
Mr. Trump's next steps would be.
Mr. Trump, however, may have tipped his hand Monday, when
he said he would merely be "tweaking"
trade arrangements with Canada
and that he does not want to target
Canada in
the same way he does Mexico.
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