The brakes have officially been placed on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, with US President Donald Trump signing an executive order withdrawing from the deal on Monday.
In a statement the Trump administration said that decision is the right one and that with its approach to international trade, relief can be delivered to blue-collar workers who have seen jobs move offshore.
“With tough and fair agreements, international trade can be used to grow our economy, return millions of jobs to America’s shores, and revitalize our nation’s suffering communities,” the statement said.
Last week Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led a push for an early ratification of the TPP before the US President’s inauguration on Friday.
There’s been opposition from some Republicans to President Trump’s decision, with Senator John McCain tweeting overnight that doing so “abdicates US leadership in Asia to China”.
Withdrawing from #TPP abdicates US leadership in #Asia to #China – US can’t win if we forfeit opportunity https://t.co/psDxmNaeZ3
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) January 23, 2017
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