Hours after President Trump issued a notice of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the White House signaled its intention to forge a series of bilateral trade agreements with the 11 other nations who had signed onto TPP.
“When you look at big multilateral agreements, they’re not always in the best interest of the United States,” press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday in his first official briefing from the White House.
Spicer touted the benefits of bilateral agreements, noting the U.S. and partner nations can adjust deals more easily if they are the only two participants in them.
“In many cases, all of the other countries have to agree to a change” in multilateral agreements, Spicer said.
Trump’s move to scrap TPP on Monday earned applause from Democrats and Republicans alike, though some supporters, like Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, called it a “serious mistake.” The trade deal had become increasingly unpopular with voters amid opposition led by Trump on the right and Sen. Bernie Sanders on the left.
Trump has long promoted the concept of focusing on bilateral trade deals over multilateral ones, repeating it often on the campaign trail. He indicated over the weekend that he would soon begin discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto about changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, another deal for which Trump has blamed the exodus of manufacturing jobs in recent years.
