Give Trump time on Latin policy, trade, Obama says in Peru

President Obama said Saturday he doesn’t expect major changes in Latin American policy under the Trump administration, and urged people to “not make immediate judgments” until the president- elect puts his team together.

“Don’t just assume the worst. Wait until the new administration is in place, is putting its policies forward, and then you can make your own judgments,” Obama told a group of 1,000 young leaders from around the Americas in Peru.

“There are going to be tensions that arise, probably more about trade than anything else,” he said. But even there, Obama said, he’s not convinced President- elect Donald Trump would tear up trade deals, as he has promised.

“Once they look at how it’s working, I think they’ll conclude that it’s working both for the United States and its trading partners.”

Obama’s comments Saturday, during his final stop on what’s scheduled to be the last foreign trip of his presidency, followed a pattern of trying to give Trump space to adopt what Obama hopes are more conventional policies.

In Europe last week, Obama reassured allies that Trump would maintain the U. S. commitment to NATO, and he’ll likely have a similar message for Pacific Rim leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru on Sunday.

“How you campaign is not always the same as how you govern,” Obama said. “When you’re campaigning, you’re trying to stir up passions. When you govern, you have reality in front of you, and you have to figure out how to make this work.”

On trade, for example, Obama said the 2009 Peru Trade Promotion Agreement has benefited the United States by ensuring that workers aren’t undercut by abusive labor practices in Peru, but also allowing Peruvian workers to be customers for U. S. products.