Trump pulls US out of Pacific trade deal
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump moved yesterday to pull the United States out of the TransPacific 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,” 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. Trump also signed two other orders, on freezing the hiring of federal workers and hitting foreign NGOs that help with abortion.
The Republican leader is looking to shift attention firmly back onto his policy agenda after a first few days that put his incoming administration on the back foot. “Busy week planned with a heavy focus on jobs and national security,” he tweeted early yesterday. Since he was sworn in on Friday, Trump’s White House has been pilloried for lying to the public about inaugural crowds and over a campaign-style speech by the president before a memorial to fallen CIA officers.
Yesterday, Trump was hosting separate meetings with business leaders, unions and members of both houses of Congress. He also met the speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan. Tax reform was likely to be high on the agenda. “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. “A bigger thing, and that surprised me, is the fact that we’re going to be cutting regulation massively.”
Reform of Obama’s healthcare laws is also likely to be on the menu. Trump has publicly promised that none of the tens of millions of Americans who obtained health insurance under Obama will lose it. That makes any meaningful changes difficult to pay for. But the more urgent task for Trump may be to keep always skeptical establishment Republicans on board the “Trump train”.
Trump’s approval rating is around 40 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics average, low for a president just starting out. That could make legislators think twice about toeing the line with an unpopular leader. But Trump’s bareknuckle style has also kept dissent in check, with some terrified they will become the object of a presidential tweet that sets off a world of political pain. Senator Ben Sasse was among the few who had mild criticism for Trump’s decision on the trans-Pacific trade deal. “It’s clear that those of us who believe trade is good for American families have done a terrible job defending trade’s historic successes and celebrating its future potential,” he said. “We have to make the arguments and we have to start now.”