U.S., Canada reach deal to update NAFTA, change its name
The United States and Canada, with only hours to spare, reached a deal that keeps Canada part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the U.S. and Mexico.
Negotiations lasted throughout the weekend, as the White House had imposed a deadline of midnight Sunday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the accord, which will be renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), will result in "freer markets, fairer trade, and robust economic growth in our region," strengthening the middle class and creating "good, well-paying jobs and new opportunities for the nearly half billion people who call North America home."
The agreement gives the United States more access to the Canadian dairy market and safeguards Canada should the Trump administration impose tariffs on automobiles. Negotiators from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. started talking about revamping NAFTA more than a year ago, and in August, the U.S. and Mexico reached a bilateral deal. Trump administration officials told CBS News the countries are all expected to sign the new agreement on Nov. 30, and it will then be sent to Congress, with a vote expected in 2019.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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