‘Backflip’ Don resumes tough trade talk

Promising to put America first, President Trump denounced multinational trade agreements and delivered an apparent rebuke to China, railing against policies he said cost Americans jobs.

“From this day forward we will compete on a fair and equal basis,” Trump told a gathering of CEOs Friday on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam.

“We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore. I am always going to put America first,” he said.

It was a striking change of tone from the day before in China, where Trump had flattered the country and its leaders as he sought to establish a more balanced trade relationship.

Trump told the executives gathered in Da Nang, Vietnam, that he was happy to enter into bilateral trading agreements with any of the nations in the Indo-Pacific region — but only if the deals are reciprocal and fair.

“What we will no longer do is enter into large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sov- ereignty, and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible,” Trump said.

In one of his first acts as president, Trump rejected the farreaching trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, disappointing many nations in the region, including the summit's host, Vietnam.

Trump also took aim at what he described as abusive trade practices he said had “hurt many people in our country.” He described “jobs, factories and industries” being “stripped out of the United States and out of many countries” as a result.

Without singling out China by name, Trump argued that the US had adhered to World Trade Organization principles, only to be taken advantage of by countries that had ignored the rules and engaged in harmful practices such as product dumping, currency manipulation and government subsidizing of goods.

“We can no longer tolerate these chronic trade abuses and we will not tolerate them,” he said.