Page 3 - ARUBA TODAY

A3
U.S. NEWS Friday 13 april 2018
THERE

IS A
NEW CHICAGO STYLE - FRESH VEGETABLE - IMPORTED TOPPINGS
OPENING HOURS
PIZZA IN TOWN 12PM - 12AM TEL. 586-9807

FREE DELIVERY TO HIGH-RISE HOTELS

Located at Brickell Bay Mall next to SAND BAR on Palm Beach

Trump flips on trade pact, weighs rejoining Pacific-Rim deal

By KEN THOMAS and KEVIN Public Citizen’s Global
FREKING Trade Watch, which was
Associated Press highly critical of U.S. involve-
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a ment in a pact it viewed
striking reversal, President as lowering labor and en-
Donald Trump has asked vironmental standards,
trade officials to explore said Trump’s reversal on
the possibility of the United the issue would signal that
States rejoining the Trans- the president “cannot be
Pacific Partnership agree- trusted on anything,” said
ment, a free trade deal he Lori Wallach, the group’s
pulled out of during his first director.
days in office as part of his The U.S. International Trade
“America first” agenda. Commission, an indepen-
Trump’s request comes dent federal agency, has
as he faces pressure from projected in 2016 that
farm-state Republicans TPP would increase eco-
anxious that his protection- nomic growth and create
ist trade policies could spiral jobs, but the gains would
into a trade war with China be small: After 15 years,
that would hit rural Amer- the deal would add just
ica. Trump spent the 2016 A man watches a Chinese company displaying a Chinese-made industrial robot demonstration 128,000 jobs, an increase
presidential campaign rip- on processing soybean at the International soybean exhibition in Shanghai, Thursday, April 12, of less than a tenth of 1
ping into the multi-national 2018. percent. Exports would in-
pact, saying he could get Associated Press crease, but imports would
a better deal for U.S. busi- crops. The apparent de- publicly about rejoining the to counter China on trade. increase more. Agriculture
nesses by negotiating one- cision comes after the 11 deal before, suggesting he Sen Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and the business services
on-one with countries in the other TPP countries went would re-enter if he could was among a handful of industry would see gains,
Pacific Rim. Now, faced ahead last month and negotiate more favorable senators who recently vis- but manufacturing output
with political consequenc- signed the pact in San- terms. He has not said pre- ited China to meet with and employment would
es of the action, Trump ap- tiago, Chile — without the cisely what provisions he government and business decrease slightly under TPP.
pears to be reconsidering. United States. The agree- would want changed. leaders there. He said it’s In the meeting with farm
“Last year, the president ment is meant to establish It’s unclear how willing the time to work with a coali- state lawmakers, Trump
kept his promise to end the freer trade in the Asia-Pacif- other 11 countries would be tion of trading partners to also suggested the possibil-
TPP deal negotiated by the ic region and put pressure to reopen the agreement increase pressure on China. ity of directing the Environ-
Obama Administration be- on China to open its mar- and make concessions to “I have to believe President mental Protection Agency
cause it was unfair to Amer- kets to compete with and lure the United States back, Xi is smiling all the way to to allow year-round sales of
ican workers and farmers,” perhaps eventually join the though its economic power regional domination as a renewable fuel with blends
the White House said in a bloc. It was not immedi- would likely be an appeal. result of our pulling out of of 15 percent ethanol.
statement. The president ately clear how committed “If the Trump administration TPP. I don’t think we can The EPA currently bans the
assigned his top trade ad- Trump was to embarking on doesn’t pose too many get back into the TPP soon 15-percent blend, called
visers, U.S. Trade Represen- a new path of potentially demands, it is likely that enough,” Johnson said E15, during the summer
tative Robert Lighthizer and thorny negotiations. Trump the other TPP members will when talking to reporters because of concerns that
his new chief economic ad- frequently equivocates on see the value of the bring- about the trip. it contributes to smog on
viser, Larry Kudlow, “to take policy when faced with ing the U.S. back into the Meanwhile, administra- hot days. Gasoline typically
another look at whether or opposition, only to reverse fold,” said Eswar Prasad, tion officials are escalating contains 10 percent etha-
not a better deal could be course later. Cornell University professor their pressure campaign nol. Farm state lawmakers
negotiated.” “I’m sure there are lots of trade policy. “Undoubt- against China. Kudlow said have pushed for greater
Trump first disclosed his re- of particulars that they’d edly, a TPP that includes last week the U.S. may soon sales of the higher ethanol
quest Thursday to a group want to negotiate, but the the U.S. would be stronger release a list of products blend to boost demand for
of lawmakers at a White president multiple times re- and more formidable than that would be subject to the corn-based fuel.
House meeting on trade. affirmed in general to all of one that does not.” the new tariffs Trump has North Dakota Gov. Doug
Lawmakers have been us and looked right at Larry Lawmakers on Capitol Hill threatened to slap on $100 Burgum said Trump made
pressing Trump to shift Kudlow and said, ‘Larry, go have been renewing their billion in Chinese goods. some “pretty positive state-
course after escalating get it done,’” said Sen. Ben pitches for TPP — rather And the U.S. Treasury is ments” about allowing
trade threats, including Sasse, R-Neb., who attend- than Trump’s threats of working on plans to restrict the year-round use of E-15
China’s plan to slap tariffs ed the meeting. steep tariffs on steel and Chinese technology invest- ethanol, which could help
on soybeans and other U.S. The president has mused other products — as a way ments in the United States. corn growers.q