Trump hails 'historic' Canada, Mexico trade pact

[October 01, 2018]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Monday praised Canada's entry into a reworked NAFTA pact with the United States and Mexico after the two countries forged a last-minute agreement to salvage the trilateral trade accord, delivering a key win for the U.S. president.

U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a New York Times reporter during a news conference on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

The deal, announced on Sunday, helped preserve the nearly quarter-century old, $1.2 trillion open-trade zone among the three North American neighbors that Trump had long sought to rip up as part of his vow to shake up global trade.

The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is aimed at bringing more jobs into the United States, a top Trump campaign pledge.

While it avoided tariffs, the deal will make it harder for global auto makers to build cars cheaply in Mexico and

It also preserved a trade dispute settlement mechanism sought by Canada to protect its industries from U.S. anti-dumping tariffs even as Ottawa agreed to open up its dairy markets to U.S. farmers.

The United States and Mexico had already clinched a bilateral agreement in August. U.S. officials intend to sign the new trilateral deal at the end of November, after which it would be submitted to the U.S. Congress for approval, according to a senior U.S. official.

Trump on Monday called U.S. agreement with its neighbor to the north "wonderful" and "a historic transaction."

"It is a great deal for all three countries, solves the many deficiencies and mistakes in NAFTA, greatly opens markets to our Farmers and Manufacturers, reduce Trade Barriers to the U.S. and will bring all three Great Nations closer together in competition with the rest of the world," Trump wrote on Twitter.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Franklin Paul)

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