Trump wants to negotiate deal with Mexico, Canada

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump called the North American Free Trade Agreement  "the single worst trade deal ever approved in this country," and he pledged to reverse it as president.

"A Trump administration will renegotiate NAFTA and if we don't get the deal we want, we will terminate NAFTA and get a much better deal for our workers and our companies. 100 percent," Trump said at a Nov. 7 rally in Michigan.

Trump hasn't said much about what specific changes he wants to make to NAFTA, except that he wants United States imports to be exempt from Mexico's value-added tax and to end sweatshops there. So it's hard to predict what might come of bringing Mexico and Canada back to the negotiating table.

WHY HE'S PROMISING IT

Trump's pledge to renegotiate NAFTA is one reason Trump appealed to voters who have been negatively affected by the shrinking number of reliable manufacturing jobs in America over the past couple decades.

He hopes that renegotiating NAFTA would make American companies more likely to keep their factories in the United States instead of going to Mexico or other countries with cheap labor.

While some sectors of the manufacturing industry certainly took a hit from NAFTA and factories moving to Mexico, many independent analyses have found that the trade deal has had a modest effect on the American economy overall. It's caused minimal economic growth and also minimal job loss.

WHAT'S STANDING IN HIS WAY

For any sort of reconfiguring of NAFTA to take place, Canada and Mexico would have to come to the table. Canadian and Mexican leaders have said they are open to talks but not necessarily renegotiation. If they do renegotiate, Mexico and Canada likely would have a list of things they'd want from the United States.

But if the renegotiation falls through, not much would stop Trump from pulling out of the trade agreement. NAFTA gives the president the power to take America out of the deal without Congress' approval. He might, however, face political pressure and lawsuits from American businesses.

Some economists are worried that pulling out of NAFTA could do serious economic damage. Trump could spark a trade war — for example, if the United States raises tariffs on Mexico, it might retaliate with its own tariffs. Tariffs would make it more expensive to import products, meaning Americans likely would have to pay more for their goods.

TIMELINE

Trump has said he would tackle this issue in his first 100 days. If he decides to pull out of the deal completely, he would have to give Mexico and Canada a six-month notice in writing.