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NAFTA

Timeline

2017.01.24Trump resurrects Keystone and DAPL. Trump has invested in Energy Transfer Partners the partner behind Dakota Access. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Dakota Access Pipeline, Keystone XL Pipeline, Climate Change, Conflicts of Interest, Native Americans)
2017.01.25This is a transcript of ABC News anchor David Muir’s interview with President Trump. abcnews.go.com (See also First 100 Days, Mexico Wall, Trade, Jeff Sessions, John Kelly, DACA, Voter Fraud, James Mattis, Mike Pompeo, Iraq, Infrastructure, Affordable Care Act, Muslim Immigration Ban)
This is a transcript of ABC News anchor David Muir’s interview with President Trump on Jan. 25, 2017.
2017.01.26Ambiguous statements, first floating a 20% tax on Mexican imports then pulling back, reveal Trump’s uncertainty on funding border wall. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Mexico Wall)
More attention is being paid to the idea of a border adjustment tax, which because of U.S. imports could raise a lot of money.
2017.01.26Trump calls for 20% tax on Mexican imports to pay for border wall following Mexican president cancelling summit. theguardian.com (See also First 100 Days, Mexico, Mexico Wall, Trade)
Reince Priebus later called Trump's 20% tax one of a "buffet of options." Daniel Ikenson, director of the Herbert A Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, said the suggestion had put the US in “dangerous waters”.
2017.02.02The largest U.S. cattle trade group said it’s “very concerned” about President Donald Trump’s pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. bloomberg.com (See also First 100 Days)
2017.02.09Jared Kushner proves to be a shadow diplomat on U.S.-Mexico talks regarding NAFTA and border wall negotiations. washingtonpost.com (See also First 100 Days, Jared Kushner, Mexico, Mexico Wall)
2017.10.17White House officials working on trade policy were alarmed last month when a top adviser to Donald Trump circulated a two-page document that alleged a weakened manufacturing sector leads to an increase in abortion, spousal abuse, divorce and infertility. washingtonpost.com (See also False Statements, Trade)
2018.03.08Donald Trump imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum but offered relief to some U.S. allies, and opened the door for other countries to "negotiate" for exemptions. washingtonpost.com (See also Economy, Trade, Foreign Policy)
2018.03.15Donald Trump boasted in a fundraising speech that he made up information in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that the United States runs a trade deficit with its neighbor to the north without knowing whether that was true. washingtonpost.com (See also Trade, False Statements, Unpresidential Behavior)
2018.05.31Donald Trump will level steel and aluminum tariffs on three of the US’s closest trading partners at midnight Thursday, overruling his own party and stoking fears of a trade war. buzzfeed.com (See also Economy, Trade, Mexico)
American consumers will almost certainly be hit with higher prices due to the tariffs, and a slew of major industries are warning of tens of thousands of job losses in the US due to increased costs and retaliation from trading partners.
2018.06.01Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he offered to go to Washington this week to complete talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade agreement but that Vice President Mike Pence called and told him a meeting with the U.S. president would only happen if Trudeau agreed to put a five-year sunset clause into the deal. tampabay.com (See also Trade, Mike Pence)
Trudeau said he refused to go because of the "totally unacceptable" precondition. He made the comment while outlining Canada's response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
2018.06.05Mexico hit back at the United States, imposing tariffs on around $3 billion worth of American pork, steel, cheese and other goods in response to the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum levies, further straining relations between the two countries as they struggle to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement. nytimes.com (See also Mexico, Trade)
2018.06.06Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau had a testy phone call over new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration targeting steel and aluminum imports coming from Canada, including one moment during the conversation in which Trump made an erroneous historical reference, with Trump asking Trudeau, "Didn't you guys burn down the White House?" referring to the War of 1812. edition.cnn.com (See also Administration Errors, Trade, Unpresidential Behavior)
2018.08.27Donald Trump said that the United States and Mexico had reached an accord to revise key portions of the North American Free Trade Agreement and would finalize it within days, suggesting he was ready to jettison Canada from the trilateral trade pact if the country did not get on board quickly. nytimes.com (See also Mexico, Trade, Canada)
2018.09.30The United States and Canada reached a last-minute deal to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement, overcoming deep divisions to keep the 25-year-old trilateral pact intact. nytimes.com (See also Trade)