Trump pulls US out of Pacific trade deal, loosening Asia ties
Donald Trump shatters the main economic pillar of the Obama administration’s ‘pivot’ to counter China
Washington — US President Donald Trump formally withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on Monday, distancing America from its Asian allies as China’s influence in the region rises. Fulfilling a campaign pledge to end American involvement in the 2015 pact, Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office pulling the US from the 12-nation TPP. "Great thing for the American worker," Trump said as he signed the order on his third full day in office. The Republican says the trade deal would have damaged US manufacturing. The accord, backed heavily by US business, was negotiated by former president Barack Obama’s administration but never approved by Congress. It had been the main economic pillar of the Obama administration’s "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific region to counter China. Trump has sparked worries in Japan and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific with his opposition to the TPP and his campaign demands for US allies to pay more for their security. Harry Kazianis, Dir...
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