Trump announces ‘incredible’ trade deal with Mexico

The US and Mexico have reached common ground on key trade terms as pressure mounts to complete renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

US President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of the existing deal, announced the apparent breakthrough on Monday. The final outcome remained in doubt as Canada, the third country in the treaty, has not signed off. The development follows about a year of talks triggered by Mr Trump, who had threatened to pull out of the pact. He demanded renegotiation of the 1994 trade agreement, which he blames for a decline in US manufacturing jobs, especially in the auto industry. In a televised appearance at the White House, Mr Trump said the US and Mexico had agreed on terms that would make for an “incredible” deal that was “much more fair”. US officials said they expected to resume talks shortly with Canada, which has not participated in the discussions in recent weeks. But Mr Trump also said he is not committed to a three-country agreement and would be willing to strike separate, bilateral deals. He also threatened Canada with tariffs on cars and said he wanted to get rid of the name Nafta, which he said has “bad connotations”. “We will see whether or not we decide to put up Canada or just do a separate deal with Canada,” he said. Read more here.