Trump Agrees to Keep US in NAFTA, Update Pact – White House

US President Donald Trump agreed to keep the United Stated in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)after phone calls with Canadian and Mexican counterparts, the White House announced.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The president also agreed with his counterparts to "swiftly" renegotiate the treaty.

"President Trump agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries," the statement read.

The White House quoted him as saying, after separate phone talks with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, it was his "privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation… and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better."

US media reported earlier that the White House was mulling an executive order to end its deal with Mexico and Canada in the next few days. During the election campaign, Trump called the pact one-sided, claiming it cost the nation millions of lost jobs after US manufacturers moved production to Mexico.

His administration has also imposed a new tariff averaging 20 percent on Canadian timber imports and called the Canadian dairy tax a "disgrace," blaming NAFTA for US economic shortcomings in trade with the northern neighbor.