Trump tells Canada, Mexico he won't terminate NAFTA

The White House has been considering an executive order as early as Trump's 100th day in office on Saturday, but there was a split among his top advisers over whether to take the step.

There are multiple reports out today saying the Trump administration is considering an executive order to withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

It is unclear whether the order will be enacted by President Donald Trump, who has accused NAFTA - a trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada - of undermining U.S. jobs. "People always think of Canada as being wonderful - so do I, I love Canada - but they've outsmarted our politicians for many years", Mr. Trump said at the White House Tuesday.

In a blow to millions of prospective American home buyers, the U.S. Department of Commerce has imposed countervailing duties averaging 20 percent on imports of Canadian lumber to the U.S.

The order specifically calls for a 300-day review of education regulations on grades K-12 proposed and enacted by former President Barack Obama - and instructs DeVos, a longtime advocate for local control of education, to produce a report that details which actions she believes overreached.

Now, it appears that Trump is about to make good on his promise to pull out of NAFTA.

However, it said that the text is in its initial stages of discussion and could be revised and become part of other proposals on the North American Free Trade Agreement that the President is considering.

Trump in recent months has labeled NAFTA as a "one-sided deal", called it a "disaster" for the U.S. and has argued that the deal has led to the loss of millions of USA manufacturing jobs.

Several Republicans in Congress have expressed wariness at Trump's threats of withdrawing from NAFTA completely. It was under an executive order signed by Trump on January 23 that the United States pulled out of the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Lindsey Graham told POLITICO that withdrawal wouldn't make sense, while Arizona Sen. "I hope he doesn't do that". There are dozens more sectors, including agriculture, banking, insurance, telecom, fisheries, pharmacies, engineering and culture, where Canada has grown too used to legally justifying its own protectionist measures, while counting on both the goodwill of gracious trading partners to go along with it. Both conversations were pleasant and productive. Lighthizer did get approved by the Senate Finance Committee this week and a full vote could come within a few weeks.

He says he expects construction to start "soon".

President Enrique Peña Nieto can't run because of term limits, and there's no telling whether the next Mexican president will cooperate with Trump on trade.

U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, represents a district that shares the border with Mexico and was the most overtly unhappy member of the Texas delegation.

"The two leaders continued their dialogue on Canada-U.S. trade relations, with the prime minister reinforcing the importance of stability and job growth in our trade relations", the Prime Minister's Office said. We are strong supporters of your administration and continue to stand ready to work with you to build a better farm economy. Meanwhile, the U.S. runs a $110 million surplus in milk and milk-related products with Canada. Further, a USA trade representative is still waiting to be confirmed, and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue just was sworn in yesterday.

The order will direct the education secretary to conduct a study to identify potential over-reach by the federal government on education issues.