Donald Trump On NAFTA: President Says He Will Renegotiate Trade Agreement; To Meet With Mexico's President Jan. 31

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto are scheduled to meet with Trump soon.

"We're going to start some negotiations having to do with NAFTA," Trump said during a White House swearing-in ceremony.

"Anybody ever hear of NAFTA? I ran a campaign somewhat based on NAFTA. But we're going to start renegotiating on NAFTA, on immigration, on security at the border."

Trump has been sharply critical of all recent U.S. free trade agreements, saying they put the United States at a competitive disadvantage, and he applauded the decision of British voters to exit the European Union.

Pulling out of NAFTA could be tricky. Republicans in Congress support free trade and could block any move by Trump to pull out of the agreement.

NAFTA originally was negotiated by former President George H.W. Bush, and it was implemented by former President Bill Clinton.

Former President Barack Obama’s response to NAFTA was to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have imposed labor and environmental rules on the 12 countries participating in the treaty, including Canada and Mexico, but Trump has rejected the TPP as well.

Trump has threatened to impose hefty tariffs on any U.S. company that moves operations to Mexico and then imports products back across the border, but such action would violate NAFTA and would need congressional approval.

Agence France-Presse reported Trump spoke with Trudeau Saturday, discussing bilateral trade. In a statement issued by Ottawa, Trudeau said the discussion centered on “areas of mutual interest.” The talk came a day after the White House posted a page on its website committing it to renegotiating NAFTA and withdrawing from TPP, which was not approved by the Senate.

“If our partners refuse a renegotiation that gives American workers a fair deal, then the President will give notice of the United States’ intent to withdraw from NAFTA,” the White House said.

Trudeau said in November he would miss having Obama around because they shared “a tremendous amount of values and outlook on the future.” In talks with former Vice President Joe Biden last month, Trudeau pledged to work on expanding NAFTA, the White House said.

Trump is scheduled to meet Jan. 31 with Pena Nieto, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Saturday, but a date has yet to be arranged for a face-to-face meeting with Trudeau.

NAFTA went into effect in 1994. Since then opponents have complained about wage differentials in Mexico that sent U.S. jobs south.

The Council on Foreign Relations estimates trade has more than tripled since NAFTA’s implementation, going from $290 billion in 1993 to more than $1.1 trillion in 2016.

Trump has said renegotiating trade deals will mean the return of factory jobs to the United States, but experts say most of the jobs have been lost due more to technical advances than competition from Mexico.

The U.S. currently has free trade agreements with 20 countries.