President Donald Trump has fulfilled a campaign pledge by signing an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The 12-nation trade deal was a linchpin of former President Barack Obama’s Asia policy.
“Great thing for the American worker what we just did,” said Trump as he dumped the pact with a stroke of a pen.He also cut funding for international groups that provide abortions, and froze hiring of some federal workers.
Trump’s executive order on TPP was largely symbolic since the deal has not been ratified by a divided US Congress.During his presidential campaign, he criticised the accord as a “potential disaster for our country”, arguing it harmed US manufacturing.
His action won some plaudits from the left as well as the right.Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders told the BBC he backed it because trade deals like this have been a “disaster” and cost millions of jobs.
The trade deal, which covered 40% of the world’s economy, was negotiated in 2015 by nations including the US, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico.
TPP’s stated aim was to strengthen economic ties and boost growth, including by reducing tariffs
It included measures to enforce labour and environmental standards, copyrights, patents and other legal protections.
The agreement, backed heavily by US business, was designed to potentially create a new single market likened to the EU.
Critics argued it was a not-so-secret gambit to box in China, which is not part of the agreement.
(BBC)
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