We know Donald Trump is not a fan of the North American Free Trade Agreement - he's told us many times on the campaign trail. Yet, despite threatening to "rip up" the deal, one of his senior advisers calmed corporate America's fears by insisting the president-elect is going to improve trade deals, not get rid of them.
Anthony Scaramucci, a senior advisor on the Trump transition team, told a group of business leaders convened at a bipartisan meeting by the group No Labels that President-elect Trump is a free-trader who is looking to make trade deals more fair, not scrap them.
“I don’t think we’re looking to rip up NAFTA as much as we are looking to right-size it and make it fairer,” he added. “He’s got a great relationship, by the way, with the Mexican president. They talk regularly,” referring to Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.
Scaramucci did argue, however, that NAFTA is in need of a facelift because it has gutted America's manufacturing industry. He also pushed back at claims that the president-elect is an isolationist.
"I can state categorically that if he were standing here right now he’d tell you that he’s a free trader,” he said.
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