US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement with two separate trade deals - one with Canada and one with Mexico - adding more uncertainly to trade talks between the three countries.
Speaking with reporters at the White House, Trump said America's neighbours are "two very different countries" that perhaps should no longer be governed by the same trade rules.
"To be honest with you, I wouldn't mind seeing NAFTA where you'd go by a different name where you make a separate deal with Canada and a separate deal with Mexico," he said.
The comment was sure to further complicate talks that have been under way for months to renegotiate the landmark free trade deal that eliminated most tariffs and duties between the three countries.
The talks already were on tense footing when Trump announced this week that he would impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, igniting global condemnation and threats of retaliatory tariffs that could badly hurt American producers.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Trump has long railed against NAFTA, condemning it as a job-killing "disaster" that has decimated US manufacturing.
"It's been a lousy deal for the United States from Day One," Trump said Friday, dismissing objections from some of the country's closest allies. "They're our allies but they take advantage of us economically."
The comments came hours after Trump lashed out at Canada by tweet, accusing America's northern neighbour of treating "our Agricultural business and Farmers very poorly for a very long period of time."
The US had sought to use the tariff threat as a cudgel to win concessions from Canada and Mexico in talks to renegotiate NAFTA, offering the two US neighbours a permanent exemption if they agreed to US demands.
But Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said there was "no longer a very precise date" as to when talks would end and that the tariffs went into effect at midnight Thursday as a result.
