POLITICS 10/01/2018 01:47 pm ET Updated 16 minutes ago The president has a long history of making tone-deaf and blatantly racist comments. By Antonia Blumberg President Donald Trump on Monday called the press “loco” — Spanish for “crazy” — and then defended his use of the word by saying the U.S. had made a trade deal with Mexico. Speaking at the White House about the recent deal with Canada and Mexico to salvage NAFTA, the president responded to a question from NBC’s Peter Alexander regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Trump said the media has mistreated Kavanaugh, who has been publicly accused of sexual misconduct by three women. “They’re loco,” he said of the media. “I use that word because of that fact that we made a trade deal with Mexico.” Trump has long fostered a fraught relationship with the U.S.’s southern neighbor. When he announced his presidential bid in 2015, … [Read more...] about Donald Trump Calls Media ‘Loco’ While Discussing U.S.-Mexico Trade Deal
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Canada signs off on new trade deal with U.S., Mexico
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday celebrated a revised North American trade deal with Canada and Mexico as a return of the United States to a "manufacturing powerhouse," vowing to sign the agreement by late November. But the president noted that the deal would need to be ratified by Congress, a step that could be complicated by the outcome of the fall congressional elections. When told he seemed confident of congressional approval, he said he was "not at all confident" but felt ratification would be granted if lawmakers took the correct action. "Anything you submit to Congress is trouble no matter what," Trump said, predicting that Democrats would say, "Trump likes it so we're not going to approve it." Trump embraced the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement during a Rose Garden ceremony, branding the pact the "USMCA." The president said the name has a "good ring to it," repeating U-S-M-C-A several times. The agreement was forged just before a midnight deadline imposed by … [Read more...] about Canada signs off on new trade deal with U.S., Mexico
Canada agrees to join trade deal with U.S., Mexico
Canada late Sunday agreed to join the trade deal that the United States and Mexico announced last month, with a public announcement expected before a self-imposed midnight deadline designed to allow the current Mexican president to sign the accord on his final day in office, according to two people familiar with the talks. Diplomats from all three countries engaged in a flurry of telephone consultations over the weekend, reviving hopes of preserving the three-country format of the original North American Free Trade Agreement favored by business groups and congressional Republicans. Few details of the agreement were immediately available ahead of the announcement.One of the toughest obstacles was Canada's demand for an exemption or other form of protection from the president's tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which may potentially be extended to automobiles from Canadian factories. Canada is expected to agree to some form of quota on its shipments to the United States, … [Read more...] about Canada agrees to join trade deal with U.S., Mexico
Canada joins U.S.-Mexico trade deal
Canada late Sunday agreed to join the trade deal that the U.S. and Mexico announced last month, with a public announcement expected before a self-imposed midnight deadline designed to allow the current Mexican president to sign the accord on his final day in office, according to two people familiar with the talks. Diplomats from all three countries engaged in a flurry of telephone consultations over the weekend, reviving hopes of preserving the three-country format of the original North American Free Trade Agreement favored by business groups and congressional Republicans.The new treaty is expected to be signed by President Trump and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts in 60 days, with Congress likely to act on it next year. Administration officials anticipate a fierce political battle to win congressional approval, especially if Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives in November. “We will enter October with a trilateral North American trade deal,” said … [Read more...] about Canada joins U.S.-Mexico trade deal
U.S., Mexico delay airing deal’s text
The United States and Mexico on Friday delayed the scheduled release of the text of a U.S.-Mexico trade deal with negotiators reporting progress on convincing Canada to join the accord before the expiration of an end-of-weekend deadline. "There's still hope. This is good news," said one Mexican official close to the talks, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential deliberations. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray in recent days has raced the clock to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and Canadian sides, the official said. The U.S. had given Canada until Sunday to join the new deal or watch as the U.S. and Mexico went ahead without it. President Donald Trump's administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening. Including Canada, U.S. companies' top export market, is considered essential to making a political and economic success of any new North American trade deal. Though U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Minister … [Read more...] about U.S., Mexico delay airing deal’s text