President Donald Trump issued a pair of early-morning tweets that say American tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will only come off if there’s a new NAFTA agreement that’s fair to the United States.
The president also wrote that Canada must treat U.S. farmers better and Mexico must do more to stop drugs from getting into the United States.
Related: Trump promises big tariffs on steel, aluminum; impact on Canada still unclear
The president has invoked national security as the reasons for imposing tariffs of 25 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, on all imported steel and aluminum.
But the Trump administration is coming under political pressure at home to exclude Canada, which is the largest source of imported steel and aluminum to the United States.
His administration is in the midst of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, which covers trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed. Also, Canada must..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 5, 2018
Related: Trudeau sounds alarm bell as U.S. inches toward tariff war
The Canadian Press
