--- title: Donald Trump NAFTA: President Will Renegotiate, Not Cancel description: President Trump does not plan to cancel the North American Free Trade Agreement and will instead work to renegotiate it. canonical: https://time.com/4757113/trump-nafta-renegotiate-cancel/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-27T03:16:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:23.026Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Says U.S. Will Renegotiate, Not Cancel, NAFTA og:description: After reports the White House would cancel it. og:url: https://time.com/4757113/trump-nafta-renegotiate-cancel/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd7ce8417cdedd37/6988c1a197cdff52b36b01ce/justin-treaudu-donald-trump-usa-canda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: justin-treaudu-donald-trump-usa-canda og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Says U.S. Will Renegotiate, Not Cancel, NAFTA twitter:description: After reports the White House would cancel it. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd7ce8417cdedd37/6988c1a197cdff52b36b01ce/justin-treaudu-donald-trump-usa-canda.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Says U.S. Will Renegotiate, Not Cancel, NAFTA > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: In Their Words: the Border Wall [Watch (HLS stream): In Their Words: the Border Wall](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QM85D8KQ.m3u8) (3:35)  _Published 2017-04-27. Here's a look back at President Trump's and the Republicans comments on the border wall since Trump's presidential campaign announcement._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 27, 2017 3:16 AM UTC  Competitors Trudeau and Trump met in Washington earlier this year Competitors Trudeau and Trump met in Washington earlier this year Kevin Dietsch—AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 27, 2017 3:16 AM UTC President Trump does not plan to [cancel the North American Free Trade Agreement](http://time.com/4756343/president-donald-trump-nafta-free-trade/) and will instead work to renegotiate it with Mexico and Canada, the White House announced Wednesday. Trump spoke Wednesday with President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to discuss the agreement, which he called [“one of the worst deals ever”](http://time.com/4682023/cpac-donald-trump-speech-transcript/) during the 2016 presidential campaign. During the call, the White House said, Trump said he would not terminate the agreement “at this time,” and that the three leaders agreed to “swiftly” to move to renegotiate the agreement “to the benefit of all three countries.” “It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation,” Trump said in a statement. “It is an honor to deal with both President Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better.” The announcement comes hours after [news reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/us/politics/nafta-executive-order-trump.html?%5Fr=0) suggested the White House was considering an executive order to begin the process of extricating the U.S. from the free trade agreement. The White House had set an internal deadline of April 29 to chart a path forward on NAFTA, and considered a range of options to meet Trump’s goals of reinvigorating the U.S. manufacturing base, officials said. A senior administration official said Wednesday that whether or not the U.S. remains in or renegotiates the agreement, “NAFTA as you know it today is going to change.” But previewing the complexities of the issue, the official added that “NAFTA is not zero sum,” noting that it has benefited key U.S. industries like agriculture, even if it has hurt domestic manufacturers. The NAFTA announcement comes a day after the Trump Administration imposed [tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber](http://time.com/4754776/donald-trump-canada-outsmarted-dairy-trade-lumber/) used primarily in home construction, in the latest development in a decades-long trade dispute. Trump and Trudeau held a animated call over the tariffs Tuesday, according to the Canadian government. It also comes as Trump continues to face down the Mexican government over his plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and to force that country to pay for it. Peña Nieto and his government have repeatedly stated they will not budge on funding the border wall. ## Transcript I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall, mark my words. [ APPLAUSE ] And wait a minute, and who's gonna pay for the wall? Mexico. Who's gonna pay for the wall? Mexico. Who's gonna pay for the wall? Mexico And it's gonna be a real wall, it's gonna be a high wall, it's gonna be beautiful, it's gonna be a wall that works. Like the former president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, he said today, and I'm quoting him. He said, I'm not going to pay for that, quote, F- ing wall. How are you going to make them pay for the wall? I will and the wall just got 10 feet taller, believe me. We did discuss the wall, we didn't discuss payment of the wall. That'll be for a later date. On day one we will begin working On an impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful southern border wall. Are you really gonna build a wall? Yes. They're talking about a fence In the Republican Congress. Would you accept offense? For certain areas I would, but certain areas the wall is more appropriate. I'm very good at this. It's called construction. I could wait about a year and a half until we finish our negotiation with Mexico which will start immediately after we get to office. But I don't wanna wait. Mexico in some form, and there are many different forms, Will reimburse us, and they will reimburse us for the cost of the wall. Well first off, we're gonna pay for it and front the money up, but I do think that there are various ways as you know and I know what your follow question is, is Mexico going to pay for For the wall. There are a lot of different ways of getting Mexico to contribute to doing this. The point is we are going to finance the Secure Fence Act which is the construction of the physical barrier on the border. I've said many times. That the American people will not pay for the wall and I've made that clear to the government of Mexico. Should Mexico pay? Border. That's not the point. Well it kind of is the point, right? Why should Mexico pay for it? Anna asked me. Do you believe that Mexico will pay for it? No. It's unlikely that we will build a wall Or physical barrier from sea to shining sea. [ CROSSTALK ] the border wall was part of it. Are you okay if the money's not designated specifically for the border wall? In fact, if the money's designated for border security but not for the border wall, you'll sign that bill? I think that as long as the President's priorities are adequately reflected in the CR and there's enough as far as flexibility for the border wall and border cities. Security. I think we'll be okay with that but we're still negotiating. [ MUSIC ] The wall is gonna get built, folks, just in case anybody has any question. The wall is gonna get built and the wall is gonna Stop drugs and it's gonna stop a lot of people from coming in that shouldn't be here, and it's gonna have a huge effect on human trafficking. 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