After spending the weekend publishing angry tweets defending his call for tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, President Donald Trump on Monday morning indicated that he may nix plans for the tariffs if he’s pleased with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018
…treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018
Trump’s Monday morning tweets may signal a shift on tariffs after Republicans and foreign leaders expressed concern over his tariff threats. It’s not clear whether a new NAFTA agreement would prompt Trump to nix tariffs on Mexico and Canada, or on all foreign countries.
His message about NAFTA Monday came after he published several tweets over the weekend defending his push for tariffs. On Saturday, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on cars imported from Europe. On Sunday, he insisted that it was time for a “change” to save the steel and aluminum industries in the U.S.
