Trump Mulls Over Rejoining Trans-Pacific Partnership

WASHINGTON - President Trump has indicated in a meeting with lawmakers and governors that he has directed his team to look into the possibility of rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

This would be a surprising change in policy as the TPP was a cornerstone of criticism by candidate and then President Trump. The president pulled the United States from the TPP last January, his first major trade action after taking office.

The potential move comes as the White House looks at ways to help protect the American agriculture sector. President Trump's current trade policies against China have spooked American farmers, many of whom deal directly with China with regards to exports.

China has countered President Trump's tariffs with tariffs of there own that target many regions that strongly supported the president during the election. Soybean farmers would be harshly impacted with nearly two-thirds of the U.S. soybean export going to China.

The White House has indicated that it has ordered the Agriculture Department to develop a new program to help rural farmers that would potentially be affected by a trade war. Advisors indicate that the Commodity Credit Corporation could be used to buy up billions in crops to help farmers.

This program is not without serious issues as it would be a slow process to get rolled out and add billions to a deficit that is already growing at an alarming rate, partially due to tax cut legislation.

Source(s): New York Times

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