WASHINGTON — President Trump said Sunday that he is “not happy” with the revised NAFTA deal that his administration has been working out with Canada and Mexico and that he doesn’t want to sign any new agreement until after the midterm elections in November.
The remarks were aired on “Fox News Sunday,” a critical day in the U.S. relationship with its neighbors as Canada started collecting tariffs on $12.6 billion worth of U.S. products to hit back at Trump, and Mexican voters went to the polls to select a new president, who will play a key role in shaping any final NAFTA deal. Front-runner Andrés Manuel López Obrador is known for his populist policies.
“NAFTA, I could sign it tomorrow, but I’m not happy with it. I want to make it more fair, OK?” Trump told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo. “I want to wait until after the election” to sign it.
Trump angered Canada and Mexico by imposing hefty tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the two countries, citing national security concerns. Those tariffs went into effect on June 1.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the tariffs “insulting and unacceptable,” and he retaliated by putting tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum as well as products such as ketchup and beef on July 1.
Many business and world leaders are hoping for a swift end to Trump’s tariffs, which they argue hurt economic growth and U.S. relationships around the world. Trump is now waging trade battles with Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan and China.
“I am worried about the trade rhetoric going too far. Signs are there: capital is starting to wdraw from stocks. The mkts are signaling a lot more risk…Change tactics now,” Anthony Scaramucci, who served in the White House last year and has typically defended the president, tweeted Saturday.
But Trump has shown few signs of pulling back. Instead, he is calling for additional tariffs on China and on imported cars, a move that would hurt Europe, Japan and South Korea.
“The European Union is possibly as bad as China, just smaller,” he said Sunday. When he was asked about whether he would back down on tariffs on China, he replied, “No, no, no, no.”
The next steps in the escalating trade war are fast approaching. China plans to hit the United States with tariffs on more than 500 goods on July 6, the same day that Trump will start collecting tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports.
General Motors warned Friday that Trump’s tariffs and the retaliation from other nations will hurt the company, forcing GM to cut jobs and putting it at a disadvantage against foreign competitors.
But Trump fired back at GM on Sunday, saying the only consequence would be that more cars will be built in the United States.
“What’s going to really happen is there’s going to be no tax. You know why? They’re going to build their cars in America. They’re going to make them here,” he said.
The president said last week that the tariffs have been “incredible,” even though America’s largest nail factory in Missouri has begun laying off workers because of the import duties and the iconic American company Harley-Davidson said it is shifting some production overseas because of the fallout from Trump’s trade dispute with the European Union.
Trump predicted that his supporters, many of whom are fans of Harley-Davidson, would shun the brand if the company goes forward.
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