-Source-The Hill-
President Trump has hailed the new trade agreement his administration negotiated with Canada and Mexico as a “historic” event that represents a fulfilled promise from his campaign.
The deal will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump has repeatedly criticized, and follows years of Trump being critical of past trade deals as being poorly negotiated.
Here are five things about the new deal.
It’s a win for Trump
Along with immigration, trade was candidate Trump’s signature issue.
He insisted that if he were elected, he’d renegotiate trade deals to help U.S. workers and manufacturers.
The message was a winner for the president, who became the first GOP presidential candidate in more than a generation to win the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
The new NAFTA deal is the first thing Trump can point to in terms of a concrete change from his trade policy.
The new deal imposes requirements that cars and trucks imported from Mexico and Canada, to quality for duty-free access, be manufactured with 75 percent components from the three countries. It also requires that a significant amount of work be done by $16 per hour labor, something intended to force Mexican companies to raise wages.
Trump also won new concessions for Canada on dairy, something he will point to in states such as Wisconsin where it is an important issue for some.
The president has come under criticism for a trade policy that has imposed steep tariffs on imports from U.S. allies as a way to try to drive them to the bargaining table.
Trump will use the new deal to argue that his tough approach is leading to results.
“Without tariffs, we wouldn't be talking about a deal,” he said Monday.
Canada was negotiating from a corner
During the summer, the U.S. took a divide-and-conquer mentality, moving on from talks with Canada and putting the focus on reaching a deal with Mexico.
By the end of August, outgoing Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto reached an agreement with the U.S., which Trump touted by making a call to Peña Nieto from the Oval Office in front of TV cameras. Read more
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