U.S. President Donald Trump's administration says it has notified Congress it intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
In a letter sent Thursday to congressional leaders, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the administration plans 90 days of consultations with lawmakers over how to rewrite the agreement followed by negotiations with Canada and Mexico that could begin after August 16.
Renegotiation of NAFTA was a key promise of Trump's during his presidential campaign, when he frequently called the treaty a "disaster."
Lighthizer told reporters NAFTA has helped strengthen the U.S. agriculture, investment services and energy sectors, but it has hurt U.S. factories and resulted in well-paying manufacturing jobs being sent to Mexico.
Lighthizer said in the letter that NAFTA needs to be updated to more effectively address matters involving digital trade, intellectual property rights and labor and environmental standards.
At a news conference Thursday at the State Department with Mexican officials and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other U.S. officials, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said Mexico "welcomes" the renegotiation of NAFTA.
"We understand that this is a 25-year-old agreement when it was negotiated," Videgaray said. "The world has changed. We've learned a lot and we can make it better."
Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement, "Since the signing of NAFTA, we have seen our manufacturing industry decimated, factories shuttered, and countless workers left jobless. President Trump is going to change that."
美国川普政府表示，行政当局已通知国会，打算重新谈判美国和加拿大与墨西哥达成的北美自由贸易协定(NAFTA)。
星期四，美国贸易代表莱特希泽致函国会领袖说，川普政府计划与国会议员展开90天的磋商，谈论如何改写北美自由贸易协定，随后，美国将与加拿大和墨西哥谈判，谈判有可能于8月16日后开始。
重新谈判北美自贸协定是川普竞选时的一个重大承诺。他经常形容这项协定是“灾难”。
莱特希泽对记者们说，北美自贸协定加强了美国的农业、投资服务业和能源领域，但是却伤害了美国的工厂，致使制造业高薪工作岗位流失到墨西哥。
莱特希泽在信中说，北美自贸协定需要更新，以便更有效地解决与数字贸易、知识产权以及劳工和环保标准有关的各项问题。
星期四，墨西哥外长比德加赖等墨西哥官员在美国国务院与国务卿蒂勒森以及其他美国官员举行了记者会。比德加赖说，墨西哥“欢迎”重新谈判北美自贸协定。
他说：“我们明白这是25年前达成的协议，世界变了，我们学到很多，可以做得更好。”
美国商务部部长罗斯发表声明说：“自从签署北美自贸协定以来，我们看到，我国的制造业遭到重创，工厂关门倒闭，无数的工人失去了工作。川普总统将要改变这种情况。”