However, a White House official told the Guardian on Wednesday that the situation was “more complicated” than reported. One of Trump’s key themes during his presidential campaign was his scepticism of free trade, in particular, the “bad deals” which he believed the United States had negotiated with other countries. With Canada, Trump announced a new tariff on softwood lumber on Tuesday that triggered concerns of a potential trade war between the two countries. He warned that “people don’t realise Canada’s been very rough on the United States ... they’ve outsmarted our politicians for years”. John McCain tweeted that “Withdrawing from #NAFTA would be a disaster for #Arizona jobs & economy – @POTUS shouldn’t abandon this vital trade agreement”.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2017 03:45 UTC