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Trump Blinks
Under increasing pressure from the fallout of the trade war with China, it looks like President Trump may be walking back one of his campaign promises:
WASHINGTON—One year after withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Donald Trump has asked his top economic advisers to study the possibility of re-entering the trade pact negotiations.
Trump has deputized Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, and Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, to study the possibility of re-entering the TPP if the terms were favorable, the president told a group of lawmakers on Thursday.
The president’s new openness toward the TPP, which he had said during his campaign was a deal “pushed by special interests who want to rape our country,” comes as he is facing criticism from farmers for his escalating trade battle with China. After Trump took aim at China with new steel and aluminum tariffs, Beijing responded by announcing it would place penalties on a list of agricultural products that would affect swaths of the president’s political base.
As a matter of policy, this is a big win in the column for “Good Trump” — it’s absolutely the right policy move from both an economic or foreign policy perspective. As a political matter, it remains to be seen how his base, vehemently opposed to most trade deals, will take the news that the President is going against them on one of his core campaign promises.
Published in Economics
Not sure how this is an issue with his base. His whole shtick is that the current deals were bad and he would get better ones. This is only bad if he takes the same deal or a worse deal.
Yeah. Until tomorrow when he reverses and changes his mind, and calls the reports “fake news.”
Isn’t this a pretty big qualifier? Seems like this had always been his position on a number of trade issues.
I am in the “if we get a better deal, I am all for it” camp.
His supporters are not going to see this as a “blink” no matter how much anti-Trumpers want them too. Just like his supporters don’t care if he had an affair.
Better headline: Trump Learns.
Jay Nordlinger frequently mentions this anecdote from Phil Gramm on his podcasts:
I think President Trump wants to do what is best for America – he loves this country – and this story is a good reminder of that.
Edit: you can say he blinked, but I don’t think Trump cares. Stuff the politics – do what helps America.
Yes that term is sufficiently vague as to allow the President the wiggle room to vacillate and claim victory when inconsequential changes are made. Curious that he never articulated the concrete reasons why TPP was bad
Having actually read most of TPP over a year ago (I skipped the thousands upon thousands of pages of tariff schedules) it consists of eliminating most tariffs and bringing other countries in line with US IP and environmental law. So how, pray tell will you make it more favorable?
Actually, it doesn’t matter. Even if he signs it for bad or stupid reasons, he’s still doing the right thing.
I hasten to point out that Donald Trump, whose strategic brilliance means he will get a better deal, has only just now realized that American participation in the TPP will be to American strategic advantage against China.
I think this is true, and so it may be a move to put pressure on China on trade negotiations.
Also, a China countermove was signaled when Xi met with the North Korean Rocketman, over whom he has a lot of leverage. Is there ultimately a deal involving China and the US in which they are leverage North Korea and the TPP as bargaining chips?
No. There’s no grand master plan. There’s no strategy. That’s not how Donald Trump operates. It’s just chaos and whatever comes into his head at any moment.
His supporters don’t care about anything he does that shows he is not an upstanding individual. Policy is all that matters to them. Well, this is one policy where he has backed down. And I say, “Good for him”. He has always favored bilateral deals. Why you can’t admit that he can change his mind, and that we Trump Skeptics are able to give him credit for it, is beyond me.
On some matters I would agree with you, but on this if I look at his trade team, the new NSA, and the timing of this news it may actually be strategery!
Right. Just like the Syria stuff is just strategy.
Good. The TPP is one of the best chances for a bulwark against increased Chinese power in the Pacific Rim.
He is in no position to “get a better deal.” The deal is signed by every 11 countries, it’s not up for renegotiating the basic terms of the deal.
What I think has happened is Trump is realizing what everyone else knew all along, TPP was designed to isolate China, so if you want a trade war with China, TPP was your best weapon.
Not policy, actions.
So people keep asserting.
I agree with this. Except that Trump supporters said people whose supported TPP hated America. If Trump joins TPP, his supporters will say that people who oppose TPP hate America.
Maybe the lesson here is that Trump’s opinion this very minute on any given topic is not the final word on how a person who loves America thinks. Naw. Can’t be. Never mind.
Literally the best news I’ve heard in weeks.
Until he reverses himself in 12 hours and calls it all fake news.
I am not sure I have seen anyone here actually make that argument, ever, so the sarcasam is odd.
Sounds fishy …. better get Mueller on it ASAP!
I’ve certainly been told on here that I must not love America because I was critical of Trump.
If a Trump supporter could point out what was bad in the TPP deal months ago when Trump pulled out that has now changed to make it a “better” deal that would be very helpful.
Ricochet has discussed international trade and such so many times.
Without addressing the issue of balance of trade at all, if we can get rid of the extranational bureaucratic organization that is set up in the TPP to administer and regulate that would be a tremendous improvement. Or controls over immigration into the USA. Or hamstringing US tech companies from projects in participating third world countries.
I agree with you 100% on this, Jamie, as I’ve said elsewhere! And now, it sounds like I may agree with Donald Trump on TPP. TPP will not only serve the interests of consumers, it will give small Asian countries an alternative to Chinese domination of the Western Pacific region. It also gives us more leverage in trade negotiations with China, because I think it’s reasonable to assume that we will be able to buy many goods from other countries in the Asia Pacific that we are currently buying from China. There’s no reason to be against TPP. I should have written this post. I’m just sorry that you beat me to it, Jamie. Well done, by the way!
Now, we just need to take out the North Korean regime with a sneak attack. Then, we can deal with Assad. What a great week!
This could be very good news.
If only Nixon could go to China, perhaps only Trump could pass the TPP.
Sorry Bryan, you lose – again. If it is true that he is now in favor of a TPP deal, that means that he has been persuaded that his actions must change. He was wrong before. Instead of applauding that, you are trying to bend over backwards and other way in order to convince yourself that he has not changed. He has changed on many things, because the things he said during the campaign were idiotic. Face it, man, this time I am applauding him, while you refuse to face a new reality!
Except this very subject – trade. Although you seem unwilling and/or unable to admit it, one can get whiplash trying to keep up with his positions on trade.