Trump administration officials on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, 2016-2018
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In his contract with American voters—the ”100-day action plan to Make America Great Again”—President Donald Trump said that he would "announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership" during his first 100 days in office. Calling the TPP "a potential disaster for our country," Trump reiterated his promise to withdraw from TPP in a video released on November 21, 2016. He added, "Instead, we will negotiate fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back on to American shores."[1]
On January 23, 2017, Trump signed a memorandum that withdrew the United States from negotiations involving the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal (TPP). The action ended U.S. involvement in the multilateral trade deal, which had not been ratified by Congress.[2]
Trump's memorandum withdrawing from TPP
Below is the full text of the presidential memorandum issued by President Donald Trump on January 23, 2017:[2]
Presidential Memorandum Regarding Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement
| “ |
It is the policy of my Administration to represent the American people and their financial well-being in all negotations, particularly the American worker, and to create fair and economically beneficial trade deals that serve their interests. Additionally, in order to ensure these outcomes, it is the intention of my Administration to deal directly with individual countries on a one-on-one (or bilateral) basis in negotiating future trade deals. Trade with other nations is, and always will be, of paramount importance to my Administration and to me, as President of the United States. Based on these principles, and by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct you to withdraw the United States as a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), to permanently withdraw the United States from TPP negotiations, and to begin pursuing, wherever possible, bilateral trade negotiations to promote American industry, protect American workers, and raise American wages. You are directed to provide written notification to the Parties and to the Depository of the TPP, as appropriate, that the United States withdraws as a signatory of the TPP and withdraws from the TPP negotiating process. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. DONALD J. TRUMP[5] |
” |
Trump's statement on trade reform
Trade reform was listed as one of Trump's major initiatives, according to his presidential transition website.
| “ | Free trade is good as long as it is fair trade. American workers are the best in the world. On a level playing field, we can compete, and win. Yet, too many American jobs have been lost over the last decade because of trade deals that do not put Americans first. Factories have closed and jobs have moved overseas because the government has imposed crushing regulations and taxes, while it negotiated trade deals that incentivized American companies to make things abroad, where environmental and labor protections are minimal and wages are low. The Trump Administration will reverse decades of policies that have pushed jobs out of our country. The new Administration will make it more desirable for companies to stay, create jobs here, pay taxes here, and rebuild our economy. Our workers and the communities that support them will thrive again, as more and more companies compete to set up manufacturing in the U.S., to hire our young people and give them hope and a real shot at prosperity again. America will become, once more, a destination for jobs, production and innovation and will once more show economic leadership in the world.[5] | ” |
| —President Donald Trump[6] | ||
Trump administration officials on TPP
President Donald Trump
- On January 25, 2018, during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said, "I would do TPP if we were able to make a substantially better deal. The deal was terrible, the way it was structured was terrible. If we did a substantially better deal, I would be open to TPP."[7]
Vice President Mike Pence
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross
- During an interview on CNBC on November 30, 2016, Ross called the TPP a horrible deal and criticized the TPP’s rules of origin. He said, “For one thing, TPP had terrible rules of origin. Rules of origin means can stuff come in from outside the boundaries of the treaty countries? In automotive, a majority of a car could come from outside TPP, namely could come from China, and still get all the benefits of TPP. And if it came in through Mexico, all the benefits of Mexico.”[8]
Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin
- On February 27, 2018, Mnuchin discussed the TPP and the administration's trade priorities. He said, "Right now the president is more focused on bilateral trades, and that's our priority and that's what we're negotiating. What the president has said is kind of when we get done with the bilaterals that we're focused on, to the extent that kind of the TPP will change, we will consider — not a question of whether they will let us back in — we will consider whether we want to go into the multilateral agreement. ... The United States is the largest trading market in the world. Everybody wants to do business in the United States. The United States has the lowest tariffs, has the lowest barriers. Every single country wants to do business in the United States. And, by the way, to the extent that we can do business with other countries on the exact same terms, OK, and our companies can be treated the exact same way, we believe in reciprocal free trade. So that's our objective."[9]
- During an interview on CNBC on November 30, 2016, Mnuchin said that the TPP was a bad deal. He added, “And we believe in bilateral negotiations. And we will have very good deals with lots of countries.”[8]
See also
- Federal policy on trade, 2017-2020
- 115th Congress on trade (2017-2018)
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal: An overview
- North American Free Trade Agreement
- Trump administration officials on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 2016-2018
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Trans-Pacific Partnership
Footnotes
- ↑ The Guardian, "Trump to withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership on first day in office," accessed November 22, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 WhiteHouse.gov, "Presidential Memorandum Regarding Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement," accessed February 9, 2017
- ↑ Office of the United States Trade Representative, "The Trans-Pacific Partnership," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ Medium.com, "The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Preamble," accessed February 3, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ GreatAgain.gov, "Trade," accessed November 19, 2016
- ↑ CNBC, "Trump: I would reconsider a massive Pacific trade deal if it were 'substantially better,'" January 25, 2018
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 CNBC, "CNBC Transcript: Steven Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross Speak with CNBC's 'Squawk Box' Today," accessed December 5, 2016
- ↑ Marketplace.org, "Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says he feels obligated to help the middle class," February 27, 2018
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