WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday the U.S. will be “tweaking” its trade relationship with Canada as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, while pledging to make the trade relationship with Mexico more “fair” for U.S. workers and businesses.
During a joint White House press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Trump was asked whether he was seeking small or large changes to NAFTA as it pertains to Canada, given that he has spent several months railing against Mexico, the other NAFTA partner.
“We have a very outstanding trade relationship with Canada,” Trump said. “We will be tweaking it. We’ll be doing certain things that are going to benefit both of our countries.”
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NAFTA has been an important trade deal for the U.S. fashion industry, which has developed a strong Western Hemisphere supply chain that is important for apparel brands and retailers making clothes in Mexico and Canada, as well as a key export market for U.S. textile producers.
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Mexico is the number-one market for U.S. textile and apparel exports, totaling $5.96 billion for the year ending Nov. 30, while Canada is the second-largest market for U.S. textile and apparel exports that totaled $5.15 billion, according to government data. Textile exports account for the bulk of the combined total of $11.1 billion in exports to Mexico and Canada.
Trump and his aides have argued that the $58 billion trade deficit the U.S. has with Mexico is unfair to U.S. companies that lost jobs over NAFTA and needs to be reduced, a stance he reiterated on Monday.
“It’s [the trade relationship with Canada] a much less severe situation than what has taken place on the southern border,” Trump said. “On the southern border, for many, many years, the transaction was not fair to the United States. It was an extremely unfair transaction.”
Trump vowed to work with Mexico, although tensions have been frayed over Trump’s insistence that Mexico pay for a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that the U.S. government plans to build.
“We are going to make it a fair deal for both parties,” Trump said. “I think that we are going to get along well with Mexico.”
Trudeau acknowledged in French through a translator and in English that Trump’s call for a renegotiation of NAFTA is a “real concern for many Canadians.”
“We know our economy is very dependent on our bonds, our relationship with the United States,” Trudeau said. “Goods and services do cross the border every sing day and this means…millions of jobs for Canadians.
“We are always focusing on these jobs, but there are also good jobs, millions of jobs, in the United States that depend on those relationships between our two countries. So when we sit down as we did today and as our team will be doing in the weeks and months to come, we will be talking about how we can continue to create good jobs for our citizens on both sides of the border.”
Trudeau also stressed that the countries need to “be aware of the integration of our economies, which is extremely positive for both of our countries,” adding that some 35 U.S. states list Canada as the largest export market.
“The fact is that millions of good jobs on both sides of the border depend on the smooth and easy flow of goods and services and people back and forth across our border,” he said. “Both President Trump and I got elected on commitments to support the middle class, to work hard for people who need a real shot at success. We know that by working together, by ensuring continued integration of our two economies, we are going to be creating great opportunities for middle-class Canadians and Americans now and well into the future.”
Both leaders emphasized the importance of strengthening their trade ties and also promoting the interests of women business owners.
To that end, they announced the creation of the United States-Canada Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders.
“It is a priority of both countries to ensure equal opportunities for women in the workforce. We are committed to removing barriers to women’s participation in the business community and supporting women as they advance through it,” they said in a joint statement.
Trump and Trudeau also participated in a business roundtable with women executives prior to their joint press conference.