WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) is not relevant for the U.S. but Canada wants it, as he pushed for companies to bring manufacturing back to American soil.”There’s no real advantage to it, it’s irrelevant,” Trump said. “Canada would love it. Canada wants it. They need it.”
Trump made the comments as he toured a Ford Motor Co. factory in Dearborn, Michigan, ahead of a speech on the economy he was scheduled to deliver in Detroit.
“The problem is we don’t need their product. You know, we don’t need cars made in Canada. We don’t need cars made in Mexico. We want to take them here. And that’s what’s happening,” he said.
The USMCA is up for review this year to decide whether it will be left to expire or another deal will be worked out.
The trade pact, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020 and was negotiated during Trump’s first term as president, requires the three countries to hold a joint review after six years.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Caitlin Webber)
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