President Donald Trump is more interested in striking a good deal with Canada and Mexico than quickly finishing North American Free Trade Agreement talks to get a vote in Congress this year, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday. Trade Representative needed to finish the negotiations by May 17 in order for Congress to vote on it this year because of various President Donald Trump is more interested in striking a good deal with Canada and Mexico than quickly finishing North American Free Trade Agreement talks to get a vote in Congress this year, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday.
"The president is more determined to have a good deal than he’s worried about any deadline," Mnuchin said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday."
"So, whether we pass it in this Congress or we pass it in the new Congress, the president is determined that we renegotiate NAFTA."
Still, that doesn’t mean Trump will not follow through on threats to withdraw from the pact or take other action, if he decides that is the best option, Mnuchin indicated.
"He has all his alternatives. I’m just saying right now we’re focused on negotiating a good deal and we’re not focused on specific deadlines," Mnuchin said. "We’re still far apart, but we’re working every day to renegotiate this agreement."
The comments came after the Trump administration missed a deadline on Thursday set by House Speaker Paul Ryan for finishing the agreement. Ryan (R-Wis.) has said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative needed to finish the negotiations by May 17 in order for Congress to vote on it this year because of various statutorily mandated notification and consultation periods involved in the consideration of trade deals.
Ryan amended his comment slightly on Thursday, saying there might be "wiggle room" for the U.S. trade representative to take an additional two weeks to finish the pact and still get a vote in Congress this year. But that assumes that the U.S. International Trade Commission does not take all of the 105 days it is allowed to do an economic analysis of the agreement, he said.