Trump’s Tough Talk on Nafta Suggests Pact’s Demise Is Imminent<br />So we’ll see what happens with Nafta, but I’ve been opposed to Nafta for a long time, in terms of the fairness of Nafta.”<br />Mr. Trudeau, in comments later at the Canadian Embassy, said he remains optimistic about the potential for a Nafta deal<br />but noted that Canadians must be “ready for anything.”<br />The collapse of the 1994 trade deal would reverberate throughout the global economy, inflicting damage far beyond Mexico, Canada<br />and the United States and affecting industries as varied as manufacturing, agriculture and energy.<br />The United States is pushing for higher levels, including a requirement to make 85 percent of the value of automobiles<br />and auto parts in North America, up from 62.5 percent currently, and an additional requirement for 50 percent of the value to come from the United States.<br />Business groups say they are firmly opposed to an American push to curtail a provision called investor-state dispute settlement, which allows companies to sue Canada, Mexico<br />and the United States for unfair treatment under Nafta.<br />As the trade talks began on Wednesday, Mr. Trump, seated in the Oval Office beside Prime Minister<br />Justin Trudeau of Canada, said it was “possible” that the United States would drop out of Nafta.<br />In his remarks Tuesday, Mr. Donohue called the administration’s proposed changes to these provisions “unnecessary and unacceptable.”<br />Mr. Donohue’s remarks followed a sharp exchange of words between the Chamber of Commerce,<br />the country’s most powerful business lobby, and the Trump administration on Friday.
