Canada is reportedly 'convinced' Trump will pull out of NAFTA

(Image credit: LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

published 10 January 2018

The Canadian government is "convinced" that President Trump intends to pull the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Reuters reported Wednesday. NAFTA has linked Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. via trilateral free trade since 1994.

But America's neighbors to the north are increasingly wary the president — who has repeatedly railed against NAFTA, including calling it the "worst trade deal ever made" — will announce America's withdrawal from the deal. Reuters, citing two Canadian government sources, explained that Canada is expecting Trump to "make his move at about the same time that negotiators from the United States, Canada, and Mexico meet in late January for the sixth and penultimate round of talks to modernize the treaty."

Both the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso weakened against the American dollar after the report, Reuters noted. Daniel Dale of The Toronto Star pointed out that should Trump trigger a withdrawal, it would not take effect immediately, but rather begin a six-month extraction process. Additionally, Dale said, it is "unclear if [Trump] has the power to withdraw without [congressional] approval," and there will be "lawsuits coming if he tries."