Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ripped President Trump for pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in one of his first actions rather than declaring China a currency manipulator, as he promised to do his first day in office.
Schumer said he and Trump have similar views on trade and their concern over the impact of big, multi-country trade deals on Americans workers. Even still, the New York Democrat said all the “fanfare” with which Trump announced his withdrawal from the TPP Monday rang hollow because the deal was already dead in Congress before the election.
“That’s why [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell never scheduled a vote” last year on TPP — it didn’t have enough support to win Senate approval, Schumer said. “We await real action on trade.”
“If President Trump wants to send a shot across the bow that he’s getting serious on trade, addressing the currency issue would have been a lot more meaningful than a redundant announcement on TPP,” Schumer.
What he and other lawmakers who share Trump’s views on trade would have rather seen was a follow-through, on his first day in office, on his campaign promise to label China a currency manipulator.
“That hasn’t happened … they are letting their currency float for now but they’ll be sure they will return to manipulating their currency,” which allows them to unfairly compete with American businesses, he said.
