Trump Says WTO, TPP Not Serving US Interests, Bilateral Deals More Profitable
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, stressing that bilateral agreements better serve interests of the country’s economy and its workers.
"While Japan and South Korea would like us to go back into TPP, I don’t like the deal for the United States. Too many contingencies and no way to get out if it doesn’t work. Bilateral deals are far more efficient, profitable and better for OUR workers. Look how bad WTO is to US," Trump wrote on Twitter, Sputnik reported.
The TPP trade agreement was signed in 2016 and originally brought together 12 Pacific Rim nations, including the United States. However, Trump, who criticized the TPP among other agreements during his election campaign, withdrew the country from the deal days after becoming president in January 2017, arguing that poorly negotiated trade agreements were harmful to US job market. The deal was not ratified and therefore never took effect.
On April 12, the White House confirmed that Trump had instructed his advisers to examine whether a better TPP trade agreement could be negotiated.
In early April, Trump described the WTO as "unfair", noting that China, which is a great economic power, was considered a developing nation within the organization, thereby enjoying "tremendous perks and advantages" over the United States.
Later in the month, China lodged a WTO dispute complaint against Washington over new steep US tariffs, citing their inconsistency with the organization’s rules.
