Canada minister encouraged by Trump's Nafta 'tweak'

Canberra

CANADA was heartened by US President Donald Trump's remark he may yet tweak his neighbour's side of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), rather than demand wholesale change, according to Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

"I was encouraged from the comment from President Trump when he referred to tweaks to Nafta," Mr Champagne said on Tuesday in Sydney. "This is an agreement that is more than two decades old," he said, and has already been amended a number of times.

"It's also for me an acknowledgment of the breadth and depth of our relationship," Mr Champagne said. "There's an acknowledgment that we just don't sell to each other, we make things together, and for me this was very encouraging because this is an agreement that has been good for the middle class…