On Wednesday, media reports about the White House's intentions to withdraw the
United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement prompted farm groups
across the nation to issue statements, asking President Donald Trump to
reconsider his intentions. But by the end of the day, Trump told the leaders of
Canada and Mexico that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty, but will
renegotiate it with them.
According to Reuters, the announcement came as White House officials disclosed
that Trump and his advisers were considering issuing an executive order to
withdraw the United States from the trade pact with Canada and Mexico.
Trump reportedly spoke by telephone with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto
and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and that he would hold back from a
speedy termination of NAFTA, in what was described as a "pleasant and
productive" conversation.
Mexico's peso and Canada's dollar fell against the U.S. dollar, with the peso
shedding about 1.5 percent in just over an hour, while Canada's
"loonie" lost about half of its value. Stocks in both U.S. neighbors
also weakened, with Mexico's benchmark IPC index falling more than 1 percent in
15 minutes.
The White House has been considering an executive order as early as Trump's
100th day in office on Saturday, but there was a split among his top advisers
over whether to take the step, Reuters reports.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to pull out from the 23-year-old trade pact if he is
unable to renegotiate it with better terms for America.