Trump threatens to keep Canada out of new NAFTA deal

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US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to exclude Canada from a new NAFTA agreement and warned Congress not to interfere with the negotiation or he would simply terminate the deal.

"There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal. If we don't make a fair deal for the US after decades of abuse, Canada will be out," he tweeted.

"Congress should not interfere with these negotiations or I will simply terminate NAFTA entirely and we will be far better off."

US-Canadian trade talks are set to resume on Wednesday, and Ottawa and Washington still have time to reach an agreement that would keep Canada in the 25-year-old trade pact with Mexico.

But Trump's tweet seemed designed to ramp up pressure on Canadian negotiators.

Earlier in the week, officials appeared close to reaching a deal that would rewrite the deal, but leaked inflammatory comments from Trump – seen by some Canadians as suggesting he was bargaining in bad faith – threatened to upend the talks.

Trump has repeatedly denounced NAFTA as "one of the worst trade deals ever made," language he repeated on Saturday.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. /VCG Photo

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday afternoon that the two countries will work towards a deal with "goodwill and flexibility," noting that "we're not there yet" on an agreement.

"For Canada, the focus is on getting a good deal, and once we have a good deal for Canada, we'll be done," said Freeland.

Trump already notified Congress on Friday that he intents to sign a bilateral trade deal with Mexico after the US and Canada failed to come to an agreement on redrawing the three-country deal.

Source(s): AFP