Trump Pledges to Withdraw US From TPP Immediately After He Takes Office
President-elect Donald Trump will withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership on his first day in office, he said in a Nov. 21 video message describing the presidential transition (here). “I’ve asked our transition team to develop a list of executive actions we can take on Day One to restore our laws and bring back our jobs. It’s about time,” he said. “These include the following: On trade, I’m going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country.” Instead of the TPP, the Trump administration will negotiate “fair,” bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry “back onto American shores,” Trump said.
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Trump's words come a day after President Barack Obama reaffirmed the U.S.'s current commitment to TPP and its "high standards," saying during a press conference (here) that several officials from TPP member states within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group "made very clear" during a Nov. 19 meeting with Obama that they want to move forward with the deal, preferably alongside the U.S. During the press conference, held on the last day of the Nov. 18-20 APEC summit in Lima, Obama also took aim at "a less ambitious trade agreement in the [Asia-Pacific] region with lower standards," apparently referring to the China-led Regional Comprehensive and Economic Partnership, adding that entry into force of that deal and not TPP would exclude U.S. workers and businesses from accessing Asia-Pacific markets. "I think not moving forward [with TPP] would undermine our position across the region and our ability to shape the rules of global trade in a way that reflects our interests and our values," Obama said.
A joint declaration (here) of the APEC leaders said increasing protectionist trends are propagating as people are more frequently calling into question the merits of globalization and associated integration processes. The declaration also states a commitment to resist "all forms of protectionism."