Trump signs executive order withdrawing U.S. from TPP trade deal

The call to end TPP became a staple of Trump’s campaign speeches.

President Trump signed three presidential directives Monday, withdrawing USA support for a Pacific trade deal, imposing a hiring freeze in civilian agencies, and restoring the so-called Mexico City policy that prohibits US aid from supporting worldwide groups that promote abortion.

Monday’s executive order won’t have any immediate effect on US businesses as the deal never went into effect, but it does set a very stark new policy for America’s attitude toward free trade.

But the Trump administration is adamant that the deal would have cost American manufacturing jobs, and acted quickly to ditch it.

On Jan. 20, the White House announced that the new administration would call for both Canada and Mexico to renegotiate the terms of NAFTA or face us withdrawal from the trade pact, USA TODAY reports. “Great thing for the american worker, what we just did”. He promised to implement more protectionist trade policies as president.

The order puts the final nail in the coffin on the 12-country agreement negotiated under President Barack Obama, but the prospective deal has always been viewed as on life support and had yet to receive required ratification from the Senate.

Trump, who was sworn in as the 45th U.S. president on Friday, targeted both the TPP and Nafta during his White House campaign.

The Trump administration intends to pursue “trade deals working for all Americans”.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership was a trade agreement among twelve of the Pacific Rim countries created to boost trade in the region. He put his signature to two other orders, one that cut government funding for foreign groups that provide abortions and the other imposing a hiring freeze on non-military federal workers.

The statement said Trump was committed to renegotiating another trade deal, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was signed in 1994 by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Ms Kelsey said other crucial countries like Australia and Canada could also pull out.

Trump signed the order Monday morning as a way to reduce payrolls and rein in the size of the federal workforce.