Donald Trump has revealed he backed down on pledges to scrap Nafta after calls from the leaders of Canada and Mexico.
He said that he had received calls from the two countries' leaders asking him to "renegotiate Nafta rather than terminate". It came one day after he told leaders of the two countries that he wouldn't end the trade pact, and just days after the White House said that the President was considering quitting it entirely.
The free trade agreement may still be terminated if "we do not reach a fair deal for all", he posted on Twitter.
He claimed that the relationship between the three countries were "good". It comes just two days after a series of rambling and confused attacks on Canada over its policy on milk.
He attacked Canada's decision to change the pricing of some milk products, driving down prices. He wrote on Twitter that "Canada has made business for our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and other border states very difficult" and said "We will not stand for this. Watch!"
Mexico's foreign minister appeared to agree with Mr Trump that the country was improving its relationship with the President, who has repeatedly criticised both of the countries covered in the Nafta agreement.
Relations between the United States and Mexico have seen "enormous progress" during the first months of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said.
"We have generated a respectful dynamic through dialogue ... we've advanced enormously in the correct direction," Videgaray told local broadcaster Televisa in an interview.
The cancellation of Nafta had been a central part of Mr Trump's election campaign, and he regularly criticised the Hillary Clinton for having approved of it. The deal was signed in the early 1990s, since when the United went from running a small trade surplus with Mexico in the early 1990s to a $63 billion deficit in 2016.
But he has changed his mind since speaking to the other countries in the deal, Mexico and Canada, Mr Trump said, though other members of his administration echoed his threat that he could still leave if the US didn't get more favourable terms.
The three North American countries form one of the world's biggest trading blocs, and disruptions among them could wreak havoc in the auto, agricultural and other industries.
The Mexican and Canadian currencies maintained their rebound early on Thursday after Trump's latest comments. The U.S. dollar dropped nearly 0.3 percent against its Canadian counterpart and about 1 percent against the peso.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC on Thursday that numerous "conceptual flaws" in the treaty needed to be addressed.
"NAFTA needs tightening," Ross said, adding that more should be done to ensure that participants in the bloc have a trade advantage over other countries.
