Trump says he would reconsider Trans-Pacific Partnership if he got a “substantially better deal”
Trump said that he would only rejoin the deal if he had a “substantially better deal” than the one previously negotiated by the US
US President Donald Trump said he would consider re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) if he can secure a “substantially better deal” for the US
Trump, speaking to CNBC while at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said that he
“would do TPP, if we made a much better deal than we had. … We had a horrible deal.”
Trump directed the US trade representative to withdraw from the sweeping agreement involving America and 11 other Pacific Rim nations soon after taking office. He said he would pursue individual deals with the other countries.
Trump is also trying to re-negotiate the three-way North American Free Trade Alliance (Nafta) deal with Canada and Mexico. He says he’ll pull out of that if the US can’t secure better terms.
Earlier, Trump – who has spent Thursday meeting with the heads of Israel and the UK, and who sparked ire by threatening to pull aid from Palestine, said his visit was already “very successful.”
“We are seeing tremendous investment and today has been a very exciting day, a very great day and great for our country,” he said.
Trump is the first US president to come to the forum in Davos since Bill Clinton in 2000. He is due to hold a reception with CEOs and other global executives later on Thursday, and will speak at the conference on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and assured him that the movement of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would be sped up, with a temporary structure opening next year.
He also threatened to pull aid to Palestinians “unless they sit down and negotiate peace.”
And in an earlier meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, the pair began to move towards a state visit by the US president to Britain – after he previously refused to attend a prior arrangement.
He also denied the “false rumour” he and May don’t get along, saying they have a “really great relationship, although some people don’t necessarily believe that.”
Trump and May last year traded criticism over Trump’s retweets of a far-right group’s anti-Muslim videos. Trump also cancelled a recent trip to London for the opening of a new US embassy, which he blamed on Barack Obama.
On Friday Trump is expected to argue that global cooperation can be part of his “America First” agenda.
The annual gathering at Davos attracts free-trade-loving political and business elites, who might be surprised that the protectionist-leaning American president will be in their midst.
Trump told reporters as he prepared for the trip that he is going to push for investment in the US. touting a booming economy.
