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| U.S. President Donald Trump responds to questions about U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during a news conference to announce the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque |
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday touted the newly reached trade deal with Canada and Mexico that will replace NAFTA as a massive job engine, creating positions across the manufacturing, agriculture, technology and financial services sectors.
“These measures will support many – hundreds of thousands – American jobs,” he said at a news conference at the White House. “It means far more American jobs, and these are high-quality jobs.”
The three countries came to the final deal, which Trump called the “most modern, up-to-date and balanced trade agreement” in U.S. history, late on Sunday. Trump plans to sign it by the end of November.
Trump said the deal will give U.S. farmers greater access to export wheat, poultry, eggs and dairy, while also turning North America into a “manufacturing powerhouse” and ensuring higher wages for auto workers. He also said that Mexico and Canada have agreed to labor, intellectual property and environmental provisions in the new agreement.
Trump said the NAFTA rewrite would not have been reached without tariffs, adding that, even though possible tariffs have given the United States strong trade leverage, the country may not need to use them.
