US, Mexico, Canada to talk on NAFTA

MNA International Desk: President Donald Trump will have the chance to turn a key campaign promise into reality with this week’s start of official talk to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

After threatening during the campaign to rip up the agreement, Trump has softened his stance a bit and spoken more recently of renegotiating the agreement as the most efficient course for the US, Canada and Mexico.

But talks to redo the controversial 1994 agreement, which eliminated trade barriers among the three countries, are expected to be thorny. The first round takes place from Wednesday to Sunday in the US capital.

Trump made NAFTA a defining issue of his campaign, frequently lambasting the deal as a “disaster” that sold out US workers and dismissing supporters who touted the deal’s benefits, reported news agency.