CLIMATE CHANGE TREATY
Donald Trump saw Paris agreement as straitjacket
Washington — By exiting the Paris climate agreement, President Donald Trump says he sought to escape an economic straitjacket that would hinder him from making good on his campaign promises and pro-growth agenda. Elected in no small part, thanks to voters in "rust belt" industrial and mining states, Trump pledged as a candidate to breathe new life into traditional sectors such as vehicle manufacturing, steel and coal mining. He also sought to promote US oil and gas production, which has boomed, thanks to the rise of hydraulic fracturing in shale. In his announcement on Thursday, Trump said he had been elected to represent the "citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris". That city in Pennsylvania — a state which went narrowly for Trump in November — is an old industrial stronghold where steel and railroad magnate Andrew Carnegie began his empire in the 19th century. But the example was perhaps poorly chosen. US Steel, which was partly formed with Carnegie’s assets, is now only the 11th-large...
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