Economy of North America

After two important visits to India and Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's planned destinations for next week are China on May 14-15 and the United States on May 16-17. Then he will visit Brussels to attend a NATO summit. In Brussels, a high-level meeting with the European Union is also likely.

President Donald Trump on April 26 told the leaders of NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico that the United States will not immediately move to exit the regional free trade agreement.

The announcement followed U.S. media reports that Trump was considering giving formal notice of pulling the United States out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

President Donald Trump has told the leaders of Mexico and Canada that he will not pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, ABC News reports.

The White House made the surprise announcement in a read-out of calls Wednesday between the world leaders.

The White House says the president "agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time."

The European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said she expected a suspension of talks between the US and the EU on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Friday, following the election of Donald Trump as US President. “Now there is a newly elected President. We do not know what exactly will happen.

Canada and Mexico agreed on Nov. 10 to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's demand to have a fresh look at their tripartite 22-year-old free trade pact, fearing they could be shut out of the US market.

But the two U.S. allies diverged on the level of changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) each was willing to accept, with Mexico taking a harder line.

French-speakers in southern Belgium, accounting for less than 1 percent of the 508 million EU consumers likely to be affected by CETA, raised objections that held up the deal until a breakthrough on Oct. 27 that was confirmed by regional parliamentary votes a day later. "All's well that end's well," said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

A halt to trade talks between the European Union and the United States is now likely, French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl said on May 3.

Negotiators have been battling to reach a deal before President Barack Obama leaves office in January but points of contention remain, ranging from food safety standards to support for small business.

Negotiations on a US-EU free trade deal "will fail" if the US refuses to make concessions, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned on April 24 ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama.

Europe and the United States should wrap up a U.S.-European free trade deal this year or people will start thinking it might never happen, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told a German newspaper.

Support for the transatlantic trade deal known as TTIP has fallen sharply in Germany and the United States, a survey showed on April 21, days before Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Barack Obama meet to try to breathe new life into the pact.