Trump withdraws from Trans-Pacific trade deal

In one of his first actions as US President, Donald Trump has officially stepped back from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and eight other Pacific nations.
Trump signed an executive order on Monday to withdraw the United States from the TPP, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
While Trump said the move from free trade to what he called “fair trade” would be a”great thing for the American worker” – arguing it would bring back manufacturing to the US – some local commentators see it as a major setback for the Australian economy.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten, for example, declared the TPP “dead in the water” and said pursuing the deal was a waste of time.
Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo, meanwhile, insisted the pact was worth pursuing even without the US – adding Trump’s decision was disappointing, but not unexpected.
“It’s a great shame [but] it’s not unexpected,” he told Sky News on Tuesday – adding that no modelling had been commissioned on what a deal without the US would look like, or what the benefits – if any – to Australia would be under such an agreement.
Regardless of whether or not TTP will become a reality, real life implications for Australian businesses dealing with the US are likely to be moderate, according to Adam Lockyer, a Senior Lecturer in Security Studies at Macquarie University.
In an interview with news.com.au last November, he said that the loss of the TPP would mean “business as usual” and that Australia already had important bilateral agreements in place with countries that make up the TPP, including the US, Japan and New Zealand.
Trump also used his first full day of business to reinforce his message of “massively” cutting regulations and taxes on companies that keep jobs in the US, claiming they could be reduced by as much as 75 per cent, “maybe more.”