President Trump predicted success in trade talks on two fronts Monday, saying his tough tactics are paying off with China and that Congress will sign off on his rewrite of the NAFTA deal with Canada and Mexico.
Mr. Trump announced late Sunday he would no longer increase tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports on March 1, citing progress with the Asian superpower and a looming summit with President Xi Jinping to seal the deal.
“So hopefully we can get that completed, but we’re getting very close,” he told governors during a business summit at the White House.
The president said his threat of tariffs were what brought Canada and Mexico to the table in drafting his “USMCA” deal with the North American neighbors.
“Every time we had a problem, we just said, ’Ok, don’t worry about it, we’ll just put the tariffs on,’ and they said, ’Ok, we’ll sign,’ ” Mr. Trump said.
He acknowledged Congress still must sign off on the North American pact, though he predicted success.
“We have to get it approved, let’s see what happens. I think it probably will be,” he said, adding of Capitol Hill lawmakers: “I know how much they hate me, but they have to hate me even more to not get this approved.”
He said the deal is a good one for “dairy farmers in Wisconsin, our winemakers in Oregon and Washington and California.”
Mr. Trump hosted the governors before he departs for Vietnam to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
He predicted a “tremendous” summit, saying Mr. Kim will be enticed by coming out of the shadows and opening his country to trade and a business boom.
“We want denuclearization, and I think he’ll have a country that will set a lot of record for speed in terms of an economy,” Mr. Trump said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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