US, Mexico agree to overhaul NAFTA; talks with Canada to begin immediately

The United States and Mexico agreed on Monday to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), putting pressure on Canada to agree to the new terms on auto trade and other issues to remain part of the three-nation pact.

US President Donald Trump and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said talks with Canada would begin immediately, though Trump threatened he could put tariffs on Canadian-made cars if a three-way deal could not be reached.

"I think with Canada, frankly, the easiest we can do is to tariff their cars coming in. It's a tremendous amount of money and it's a very simple negotiation. It could end in one day and we take in a lot of money the following day," Trump said.

Negotiations between the three trade partners have dragged on for more than a year and repeated threats by Trump that he would ditch the 1994 accord have roiled financial markets, putting pressure on the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar.
 

The Mexico-U.S. discussions focused on crafting new rules for the automotive industry, which Trump has put at the heart of his drive to rework the pact he has repeatedly described as a "disaster" for American workers.

A spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada would continue to negotiate, but would only sign a new agreement that is good for the country.

The United States, Mexico and Canada do more than 1 trillion dollars in trade between them every year.

The announcement of a U.S.-Mexico agreement lifted financial markets. Trump said he would talk to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau soon. A senior U.S. trade official said there are hopes that a final three-nation accord can be reached by Friday.

Trudeau spoke to Pena Nieto on Sunday and shared their commitment to reaching a successful conclusion of NAFTA "for all three parties" the prime minister's office said on Monday. Pena Nieto said on Twitter that he had urged Canada to return to the talks with the aim of concluding a three-nation accord "this week."

The U.S.-Mexico deal would require 75 per cent of auto content to be made in the NAFTA region, up from the current level of 62.5 per cent, a second U.S. official said. A draft fact sheet specified the content would be made in the United States and Mexico.

The deal also would require 40 per cent to 45 per cent of auto content to be made by workers earning at least $16 per hour, the second official said.

"We are now inviting the Canadians in as well and hope that we can reach a fair and successful conclusion with them as well," a senior U.S. trade official told Reuters in an interview.
 

"There are still issues with Canada but I think they could be resolved very quickly," the official said.

Trump is expected to send formal notice to the U.S. Congress by the end of the week about his intentions to sign a new trade agreement within 90 days, which would give Mexico's Pena Nieto time to sign it before he leaves office, the senior U.S. trade official said.

U.S., Mexican and Canadian stocks opened higher on Monday on optimism about a trade deal.

Mexican stocks jumped 1.4 per cent to a seven-month high, while the peso firmed about 1.3 percent against the dollar, heading for its best one-day gain in more than a month.