Trump agrees 'not to terminate NAFTA at this time'

Story highlights During the campaign, Trump made his disdain for NAFTA a central component of a populist message

His approach has not softened since taking office

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico Wednesday he was not immediately planning to end the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact which he railed against as a candidate and as recently as last week declared was harmful to US workers.

In a description of Trump's phone calls to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Enrique Peña Nieto, the White House said Trump "agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries."

The White House said the phone conversations were "pleasant and productive."

"It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation," Trump said in a written statement that accompanied the readout of his phone calls. "It is an honor to deal with both President Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better."

Trump reiterated those points Thursday morning, tweeting, "if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA." He also claimed that the two leaders reached out to him.

I received calls from the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada asking to renegotiate NAFTA rather than terminate. I agreed.. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2017

...subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA. Relationships are good-deal very possible! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2017