Infrastructure stocks are falling after President Donald Trump told Democratic leaders that passing his replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement should come before talks on infrastructure. NAFTA FIRST: President Trump wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday that "Before we get to infrastructure, it is my strong view that Congress should first pass the important and popular USMCA trade deal," Bloomberg reported. "It will replace the job-killing Nafta, one of the worst trade deals ever entered into by our nation," Trump added. WHAT'S NOTABLE: On Wednesday, President Trump abruptly left a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at the White House, telling reporters that he would not discuss any legislation, including infrastructure, with Democrats as long as he was under investigation by several committees, CNBC's Christina Wilkie reported. The meeting between the president and Democratic lawmakers was meant to be a second official sit-down specifically focused on infrastructure, Wilkie notes. "I walked into the room and I told Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi, 'I want to do infrastructure' .... but we can't do it under these circumstances," Trump said. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin told reporters afterwards that there had been "high drama in the Cabinet Room," adding that everyone else was in attendance when Trump entered the room and "announced he was not going to go forward with the meeting, he was cancelling it." U.S. LIFTS STEEL AND ALUMINUM TARIFFS ON CANADA AND MEXICO: Late last week, the U.S. and Canada announced that a 25% tariff on steel imports, and a 10% tariff on aluminum, would end in 48 hours. It is widely expected the U.S. and Mexico will make a similar announcement soon. The U.S. implemented the tariffs last year due to worries over national security. Under the new pact, there will be no quotas on how much steel or aluminum the three countries buy from overseas. PRICE ACTION: Shares of U.S. infrastructure names are all lower including Vulcan Materials (VMC), Fluor Corporation (FLR) Aecom (ACM), as well as steel stocks including U.S. Steel (X), AK Steel (AKS) and Nucor (NUE).
