North American leaders sign NAFTA replacement deal

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. signed a revised North American free trade pact Friday on the margins of the G20 summit in Argentina that is set to govern more than $1.2 trillion in regional commerce.

Presidents Donald Trump, Enrique Pena-Nieto and Justin Trudeau signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to replace the 25 year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Trump hailed it as "one of the most important, and largest, Trade Deals in U.S. and World History" on Twitter shortly after the signing ceremony.

"The United States, Mexico and Canada worked so well together in crafting this great document. The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!" he said.

But the agreement's future is far from certain.

It will require approval from each country's legislature, and in the U.S., Democrats in Congress, in particular, have voiced concerns about its labor and environmental protections.

That is critical as the party is set to take control of the House of Representatives in the U.S.'s two-chamber legislature. Both chambers would need to sign off on the agreement before it could make its way to Trump's desk to be signed into U.S. law.

While Trump spoke positively of the agreement during the signing ceremony, Trudeau reiterated his calls for Trump to lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada.

"Make no mistake, we will stand up for our workers and fight for their families and their communities," he said. "And Donald, it’s all the more reason why we need to keep working to remove the tariffs on steel and aluminum between our two countries.”

On his last day in office, Pena Nieto said the agreement advances the countries toward greater integration.

"Revamping the new trade agreement was aimed to preserve the view of an integrated North America with the firm belief that together we are stronger and more competitive," he said in remarks translated from Spanish.