NAFTA: U.S. wants to insert 5-year termination clause in the agreement
Posted Sep 14, 2017 11:15 am.
Last Updated Sep 14, 2017 11:38 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON – The United States wants to insert a so-called sunset clause in NAFTA, which would terminate the agreement after five years unless the three member countries agree to extend it.
Wilbur Ross, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, says the constant threat of termination would force a permanent, systematic re-evaluation of the deal.
He says he and the U.S. trade czar agree that the new NAFTA should include such a termination.
Ross made the remarks at a summit organized by the website Politico, which first reported news about the U.S. pushing for a sunset clause.
He says it’s unclear whether Canada and Mexico, the other NAFTA countries, will go for the idea.
He also says he wants a deal by the end of the year and would rather not terminate the agreement as Trump has threatened.
