Alabama lawmakers praised Donald Trump after the president announced Monday that he has reached a preliminary new trade deal with Mexico called the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement – getting rid of the name NAFTA – with hopes that Canada will “negotiate fairly” and join the new agreement in the near future or enter into a separate deal.
In a phone call with the Mexican president, Trump said, “[W]e’ll get rid of the name NAFTA. It has a bad connotation because the United States was hurt very badly by NAFTA for many years. And now it’s a really good deal for both countries, and we look very much forward to it.”
Trump’s announcement was a first step, and any finalized trade deal would first have to be approved by Congress. Negotiations with Canada were expected to begin Monday afternoon. Both the U.S. and Mexico reportedly want Canada to join the agreement, but the deal is set to be presented to Congress either way.
The preliminary agreement with Mexico requires 75 percent of an automobile’s value to be manufactured in North America, up from the current NAFTA level of 62.5 percent. It would also require 40 percent to 45 percent of the vehicle to be made by workers earning at least $16 per hour.
The agreement also sets new standards for modernizing digital trade, financial services, and intellectual property that are far better and more enforceable than anything in NAFTA or the now-abandoned Trans-Pacific Partnership, per Axios.
Alabama is one of the states with the most at stake in these trade negotiations – Canada was Alabama’s top export market last year and Mexico was its fourth largest. The state’s agricultural and manufacturing sectors are especially in the crosshairs.
Alabama’s congressional leaders praised the president’s efforts to ensure fair trade and protect American jobs.
“The United States government must actively pursue measures that would ensure an equal and fair relationship with our trading partners,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) said in a statement. “I will continue to support measures that protect American jobs from unfair foreign competition and look forward to reviewing the details of President Trump’s plan.”
Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-4), who is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies for the powerful House Appropriations Committee, hailed the Trump Administration’s negotiating prowess.
“All throughout the 2016 campaign, Democrats laughed at the idea we could renegotiate our trade deals,” said Aderholt in a release. “With this important step towards a new NAFTA deal, President Trump has once again proven these critics wrong.”
He added, “The strength of the American economy, and the American consumer, comes with a lot of negotiating power. Power that has too often not been used, to the detriment of American workers. Those days are over.”
Big news and good news for the United States! Great work by @POTUS and his team. https://t.co/cePRgp9XfA
— Rep. Bradley Byrne (@RepByrne) August 27, 2018
“I applaud President Trump and his administration for their work toward a strong trade agreement with Mexico that benefits American workers,” Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-1) outlined in a statement. “Today’s announcement is good news, and I look forward to reviewing the details of the agreement.”
Read more about the preliminary agreement here.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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