NAFTA booster in Trump administration: I think we get a deal by December
WASHINGTON — One of the biggest supporters of NAFTA in the Trump administration says he’s feeling increasingly optimistic, twice telling a gathering of American lawmakers Tuesday that he foresees a deal by the end of December.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a hearing of the House of Representatives agriculture committee that he believes it will happen in the months following July’s presidential election in Mexico. He made that prediction again, when pressed.
“I’m more hopeful than I have been,” Perdue said. “I think we get the Mexican politics out of the way, I think we’ll have a deal before the end of the year.”
There’s been movement at the negotiating table — although less so from the Canadians, he said. But he is predicting an end result that benefits everyone: “I think probably we see more movement on Mexico’s side, than we do Canada. I believe frankly we’ll get a better deal from both of them, and preserve the benefits for all three countries.”