President Donald Trump says he has agreed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, rather than terminate the agreement. Following news that the White House was preparing an executive order to terminate NAFTA, the President said on Twitter Thursday that leaders called from Mexico and Canada ?asking to renegotiate rather than terminate.? He agreed to do so, but only if the U.S. receives a fair deal in renegotiations.
Word of an executive order to terminate NAFTA angered agricultural groups. Following the outcry, President Trump said in a statement: ?It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation.? He told reporters Thursday afternoon that he had been planning to terminate NAFTA ?as of two or three days from now.? But now, he says: ?We?re going to give renegotiation a good, strong shot? and that renegotiation begins today.
The American Soybean Association (ASA) welcomed an announcement from President Donald Trump that the United States would remain a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). ?We are relieved by the president?s decision that the United States will work on improving the NAFTA rather than withdrawing from it, and we will continue to closely monitor negotiations as they move forward,? said ASA President Ron Moore, a soybean farmer from Roseville, Illinois. ?When you?re talking about $3 billion in soybean exports a year, any threats to withdraw from agreements and walk away from markets makes farmers extremely nervous. We remain supportive of efforts to modernize NAFTA and further expand access for U.S. soy in Mexico and Canada, and we look forward to working with the administration to realize these goals.?
Source: NAFB News Service
