President Trump said Monday that his recently-announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will “come off” if a “new” and “fair” NAFTA agreement is signed. “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,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Also, Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.”
He added: “To protect our Country we must protect American Steel! #AMERICA FIRST”
The tweets come as the United States, Canada, and Mexico will meet Monday for a final round of NAFTA talks. Last week, Trump announced his plan to impose a 25 percent tax on steel imports and a 10 percent tax on aluminum imports. Despite the news rocking the stock market and pushback from U.S. lawmakers, the EU, and Canada, the president has remained steadfast in his decision, arguing on Friday that “trade wars are good.”
“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win,” he said. “Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!”
