World trade and Trump

Upon taking office, President Donald Trump confirmed his intention to swiftly carry out some of his campaign promises on trade, which he blames for the loss of blue-collar jobs, as it allegedly exposes US workers to ‘unfair’ competition and lower standards from abroad.

The first casualty was the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP), an agreement signed by Obama in 2015 after seven years of protracted negotiations with 11 partners that account for 44% of US exports. Still not ratified by Congress and criticised even by Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign, TPP was a relatively easy target, so one of Trump’s first acts as President was to order the withdrawal of the US from it.