(UDHAYAM, WASHINGTON) – President Donald Trump has fulfilled a campaign pledge by signing an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The 12-nation trade deal was a linchpin of former President Barack Obama’s Asia policy. As he dumped the pact with a stroke of a pen, Trump said “Great thing for the American worker what we just did.”
He also cut funding for international groups that provide abortions, and froze hiring of some federal workers. Trump’s executive order on TPP was largely symbolic since the deal has not been ratified by a divided US Congress.
During his presidential campaign, he criticized the accord as a “potential disaster for our country”, arguing it harmed US manufacturing.
Last evening, his pick to be Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations committee, and now requires confirmation from the full Senate.
