President-elect Donald Trump revealed plans to scrap the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on his first day in the White House.
In a video released on YouTube, the Republican said his agenda would be based on “putting America first.”
“I’ve asked my transition team to develop a list of executive actions we can take on day one to restore our laws and bring back our jobs,” Trump said.
“On trade, I am going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership – a potential disaster for our country,” he continued. “Instead we will negotiate fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores.”
The video also relayed what his policy priorities would be in his first 100 days.
Trump railed during the election campaign against the vast TPP, which was signed by a dozen countries accounting for 40 percent of the world’s economy, but which has not yet been ratified.
The pact aims to deepen economic ties between the countries, cut tariffs and promote trade to create growth. Nike, an outspoken supporter of the deal, argued that it will allow for more innovation and expansion.
Critics object it would shift too much control over regulation to companies from governments and the public. Critics also claim the pact was negotiated to give advantage to big business without any transparency. New Balance said the deal would make it even more difficult for companies with a stateside manufacturing base to stay competitive because the price of foreign imports will inevitably drop.
TPP, which President Barack Obama has supported, involves 12 countries: the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. While the other 11 nations still wish to ratify the trade agreement, with U.S. involvement, it could become a non-starter.
Obama has said he would give up seeking congressional approval for the TPP and said its ratification is now up to the incoming Trump administration. He had championed it as a way for the United States to lead the creation of “gold standard” rules for 21st century trade.
“I think not moving forward would undermine our position across the region and our ability to shape the rules of global trade in a way that reflects our values and our interests,” Obama told a news conference on Sunday at the end of a summit meeting of the 21-country Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group in Peru.
Trump also said during his campaign run that he wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
