Trump has now officially signed the new NAFTA agreement called the USMCA with both Mexico and Canada:
FOX NEWS – President Trump, his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have officially signed the replacement to NAFTA, in the wake of the Trump administration enacting tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico, which sparked retaliatory tariffs and negotiations with the two countries.
The new deal, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), was signed between the nations on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Argentina.
USMCA, which was finalized last month, replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which had been repeatedly criticized by Trump as being unfair to Americans and the country’s industry.
“This has been a battle, and battles sometimes make great friendships,” Trump said at the beginning of the signing ceremony.
The new agreement doesn’t lift the tariffs on steel and aluminum, with both the Mexican and Canadian governments stating their displeasure that the issue has not yet been solved.
Trudeau used the signing ceremony to point that further cooperation is needed and alluded to the existing tariffs on steel.
But this new deal is going to have getting through the new Democratic House…
But it still faces an uphill battle in Congress, with some top Democrats in the House and Senate saying they are not convinced the new agreement is good enough for America.
Even as Trump celebrates the new deal as a win for the country, the agreement still needs to be ratified by the new Congress, where Democrats believe the new deal doesn’t protect American workers.
Many Democrats, emboldened by their victory in the midterm election earlier this month, say they want to the deal to protect American workers from low-wage Mexican competition.
While such concerns may reverberate with the Trump administration’s economic populist message, pro-free trade Republicans may be wary of embracing Democrats’ suggestions.
I don’t think it’s impossible, but the odds are certainly stacked against him as most Democrats will oppose it just because they don’t like him. Trump’s gonna have to do some wheelin and dealin in order to get the Democrats onboard.
Trump just tweeted this on the signing:
Just signed one of the most important, and largest, Trade Deals in U.S. and World History. The United States, Mexico and Canada worked so well together in crafting this great document. The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2018