Trump pulls US out of Pacific trade pact
Prez says deal was ‘job killer’ and a ‘rape of US interests’
Washington, Jan. 23: President Donald Trump on Monday moved to pull the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, making good on a pledge to scrap a deal he denounced as a “job killer” and a “rape” of US interests.
Embarking on his first full week in office, the 45th US President began rolling out his policy agenda after a tumultuous first weekend for his administration by signing a series of executive orders.
Among the first was a memo on withdrawing from the vast TPP trade pact, which aimed to set trade rules for the 21st century and bind US allies against growing Chinese economic clout.
“We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” Mr Trump said as he signed the executive order in the Oval Office.
“Great thing for the American worker what we just did.”
Promoted by Washington and signed by 12 countries in 2015, the TPP had yet to go into effect and US withdrawal is likely to sound its death knell. Its signatories — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and the United States — together represent 40 per cent of the world economy.
The real estate mogul’s White House bid was fuelled in part by a pledge to overturn trade deals — such as TPP and the North American Free Trade Agreement — that he says have drained US jobs and destroyed its industrial heartlands.
Mr Trump also signed two other orders, on freezing the hiring of federal workers and hitting foreign NGOs that help with abortion. SLASH TAXES President Trump on Monday promised business leaders that he would cut taxes “massively” and slash regulations by 75 per cent.
He also warned the 12 corporate CEOs gathered at the White House that he would impose a “border tax” on goods imported by companies that move jobs out of the United States.
“What we’re doing is we are going to be cutting taxes massively for both the middle class and for companies, and that's massively,” he said.
“When somebody wants to put up a factory, it’s gonna be expedited,” Mr Trump said adding “and we’re gonna take care of the environment, we’re gonna take care of safety.” — Agencies