Trump Claims He Will Withdraw US From NAFTA

The New York Times reports:

President Trump announced his intention late Saturday to quickly withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement, a move intended to force House Democrats to enact a revised version of the pact despite concerns that it fails to protect American workers.

If the president follows through on his threat, congressional leaders will have six months to pass the measure. The agreement has been losing support in recent days as Democratic lawmakers, ready to take control of the House in January, reckon with fallout from the announcement last week that General Motors was planning to idle five plants in North America.

If no deal can be reached, both versions of the treaty would be void, which would result in far more restrictive trade that could have a severe impact on industry and agriculture in all three nations, economists have warned.

In his first real action with the new Democratic House leadership, Trump dares @NancyPelosi to defy him on NAFTA. https://t.co/CQsoibvWbR

— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) December 2, 2018

Trump told reporters late last night he’ll be withdrawing from the original NAFTA to pressure Congress to accept the new agreement, giving them a choice of the new agreement or nothing. It’s unclear he can withdraw without congressional approval; some experts say yes, some no. pic.twitter.com/JvmQ2xJajB

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 2, 2018