Last-gasp US-Canada deal pulls Nafta back from the brink
Nafta will give way to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement as both sides made concessions
Ottawa/Washington — The US and Canada forged a last-gasp deal on Sunday to salvage a trilateral trade pact with Mexico, rescuing a three-country, $1.2-trillion open-trade zone that was on the brink of collapse after nearly a quarter of a century. The two countries said the new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), would "result in freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in our region". Negotiators worked frantically ahead of a US-imposed midnight deadline (4am GMT) to settle differences, with both sides making concessions to seal the deal. "It's a good day for Canada," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters after a late-night cabinet meeting to discuss the agreement, which triggered a jump in global financial markets. President Donald Trump, who blamed Nafta for the exodus of manufacturing jobs to low-wage Mexico, had threatened to walk away from Nafta unless major changes were made. "It's a great win...
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