Övünç Kutlu
January 23, 2017•Update: January 23, 2017
By Ovunc Kutlu
NEW YORK
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that pulls the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, a promise he made during his campaign.
While on the campaign train, Trump dubbed the deal with 12 Pacific Rim nations that comprises approximately 40 percent of global trade as a "bad” one.
"We've been talking about this for a long time," Trump said Monday and that withdrawing from the TPP is a "great thing for the American worker”.
Former President Barack Obama worked on the TPP for two years for what he said was a way to enhance trade relations that would help balance against China and its economic influence on the region.
Trump's decision to withdraw from the TPP on his first full official day in the Oval Office is an indication the Trump administration will pursue significantly different trade policies compared its predecessor.
The new president, however, has not yet provided details except it would include increasing trade barriers against Mexican and Chinese exports.
Shortly after Trump signed off on the order, a leading Republican lawmaker, John McCain, slammed the decision as “a troubling signal of American disengagement in the Asia-Pacific region at a time we can least afford it".
“President Trump’s decision to formally withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a serious mistake that will have lasting consequences for America’s economy and our strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region," McCain said in a statement.
Trump signed other executive orders Monday, including a ban on administrative officials from lobbying for five years after leaving office, a ban on foreign NGO's from promoting and paying for abortions and a federal government hiring freeze, except in the military.
