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Why did Donald Trump seek to renegotiate NAFTA after becoming U.S. president?
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North American Free Trade Agreement
(From left) Mexican Pres. Carlos Salinas de Gortari, U.S. Pres. George H.W. Bush, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney meeting to initial the North American Free Trade Agreement in San Antonio, Texas, October 7, 1992.
Upon taking office in 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump sought to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) primarily because he characterized it as the worst trade deal ever made.1
Central to his motivation was a campaign promise to bring more manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Trump argued that the existing agreement disadvantaged the U.S. and threatened to withdraw the country from the pact entirely if it were not renegotiated to his satisfaction. His administration aimed to address trade imbalances and protect domestic industries, eventually leading to the creation of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which included stricter requirements for regional manufacturing and labor standards.12