President Donald Trump didn't waste any time jumping into governing, issuing a call to renegotiate NAFTA before his inaugural speech ended.
It didn’t take long for President Donald Trump to move from words to actions. As he was delivering his inaugural address, the White House issued statements saying Trump is pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and would take immediate steps to renegotiate NAFTA.
“With a lifetime of negotiating experience, the President understands how critical it is to put American workers and businesses first when it comes to trade,” the White House said in a release.
“With tough and fair agreements, international trade can be used to grow our economy, return millions of jobs to America’s shores and revitalize our nation’s suffering communities.”
Trump’s expressed repeatedly that he’ll look to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement once he became president, but announcing it moments after taking the oath wasn’t necessarily expected.
(Scrubbing NAFTA could cost 30,000 jobs, study finds. Click Here for the story.)
However, Wilbur Ross, his Commerce Secretary nominee, said recently in Toronto that the Trump Administration will be looking to renegotiate the terms of the deal and he reiterated that during his confirmation hearings.
The move has automakers worried because will substantively change the way in which they do business. A 35% tariff that would be difficult to enact is bad enough, but to move this to the top of the agenda after companies had been showing how much work they’re doing in the U.S. in hopes to appease Trump is alarming to some.
To elevate the level of concern, the White House said Friday that if the NAFTA partners refuse “a renegotiation that gives American workers a fair deal,” then the president will give notice of the country’s intent to withdraw.
A withdrawal could have some tough consequences, according to the Center for Automotive Research, , a highly respected automotive research firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“Counter to the incoming Trump Administration’s goal of creating manufacturing jobs the withdrawal from NAFTA or the implementation of punitive tariffs could result in the loss of 31,000 U.S. jobs,” said CAR.
(Trump jabs Toyota over Mexico. Click Here for the story.)
That conclusion runs counter to what Trump and his transition team have made a bedrock position in their economic and manufacturing policies. And it could come as a big surprise to GOP voters in the American heartland who helped the maverick New York businessman win the election.
That conclusion aside and despite calls from automakers to essentially, leave the deal alone, it’s full speed ahead.
“To carry out his strategy, the President is appointing the toughest and smartest to his trade team, ensuring that Americans have the best negotiators possible,” the White House’s release said.
“For too long, trade deals have been negotiated by, and for, members of the Washington establishment. President Trump will ensure that on his watch, trade policies will be implemented by and for the people, and will put America first.
(Trump threatens Canada, Mexico, with new border tariffs. Click Here for the story.)
“By fighting for fair but tough trade deals, we can bring jobs back to America’s shores, increase wages, and support U.S. manufacturing.”