Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview he does not think U.S. President Donald Trump will pull out of NAFTA, despite differences over how to update the trade pact, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp said on Wednesday.
Trudeau’s comments were among the most positive made by any Canadian official since talks started last year to revamp a $1.2 trillion treaty that Trump calls a disaster.
“It obviously would be bad if we canceled it, so I don’t think the president is going to be cancelling it,” Trudeau told the CBC in an interview recorded on Tuesday. The CBC released excerpts on Wednesday.
Trudeau also told the CBC that Canada has multiple contingency plans in the event Washington does announce it plans to withdraw. The Trump administration is demanding big changes to the pact, and this has caused tensions with Canada and Mexico.
Trump’s trade chief, speaking in Montreal on Monday after the sixth of eight rounds of talks, rejected proposals for unblocking the negotiations but promised to seek quick breakthroughs.
Foreign ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico will meet in Mexico City on Friday to discuss the talks and other issues, the Canadian government said on Wednesday.
via Reuters
