The United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday told the leaders of Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico President Pena Nieto that United States will not withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) immediately.
Trump's announcement came shortly after the media reports that his administration was considering giving a formal notice to US' partners in NAFTA of pulling out of the free trade agreement.
The White House in a statement said that President Trump, in his phone calls to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, "agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time."
NAFTA, which was established in January 1994 under then-president Bill Clinton, allows a free flow of goods between the three partner countries --- United States, Canada and Mexico-- without tariffs.
The White House statement also added that "the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries."
Trump, during his presidential campaign last year, had pledged to renegotiate or ditch the regional trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, calling it "the worst trade deal ever signed anywhere." Criticising NAFTA, Trump had also claimed that the deal resulted in millions of lost US industrial jobs, mostly to Mexico.
"It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation," Trump said, according to the White House statement. "It is an honor to deal with both President Pena Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better."
The White House statement said that the US President's conversation with both the leaders was "pleasant and productive."
The US reportedly had a trade deficit worth $62 billion in goods and services last year with Mexico, however it noted a surplus of $8 billion with Canada.
