Commerce chief: NAFTA needs more than a tweak

Wilbur Ross, President Trump’s secretary of Commerce, on Sunday said the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) needs “much more than a tweak,” arguing “bad trade deals” should be rectified. 

“I think it needs much more than a tweak. I think the president has made that exceedingly clear,” Ross told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Ross criticized Congress for its delay in various trade activities, including a letter to begin negotiations on NAFTA.

{mosads}“We need Congress’s permission to enter into the formal 90-day letter into the records so that we can begin the formal negotiations,” Ross said. “We were trying to get that done before the Easter recess. We were not able to do it.”

The Commerce secretary also expressed frustration with Congress moving slowly on hearings for Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer. Ross said the slow process for Lighthizer is “not helpful.”

Trump during his presidential campaign railed against trade deals like NAFTA, arguing they take jobs away from American workers.

Ross on Sunday emphasized the need to amend what he said were bad deals.

“Bad trade deals shouldn’t be allowed to sit. The longer they sit there, the more they are to our disadvantage,” he said.