The great unknown — which the Turnbull government will be trying to find out — is whether the President is flirting loosely with the idea or is genuinely committed to pursuing it.
Trump has a habit of floating big policy changes and then dropping them: think of his one-day push for tighter gun laws after the Florida shooting.
But there are several reasons to hope Trump now views the TPP as a benefit rather than the “disaster” he once called it.
He desperately wants to limit the hurt to US farmers, who stand to be the big losers from the threatened tariff trade war with China. Beijing has targeted its threatened retaliatory tariffs at US agricultural products, knowing this will hit Trump’s political support in states where his popularity is highest.
Trump has talked in recent days of US farmers as brave “patriots”, saying they will understand why they must take “a hit” for their country. But he also has been seeking a way to ease the potential pain.
Viewed from this angle, US involvement in the TPP suddenly looks a lot more attractive for Trump: it would provide extra markets and protection for US farmers.
Second, TPP membership would give Trump another avenue to gang up on China on trade, further isolating Beijing while spreading US influence in the Asia-Pacific.
Another encouraging sign is that Trump feels confident enough with his support base — which last year strongly backed his withdrawal from the TPP — to float the notion of rejoining.
It would be ironic if his move to skewer free trade by imposing tariffs on China ended indirectly in the US signing up to the region’s largest free-trade pact.
It makes no sense for Trump to invoke tariffs on one day and a free-trade pact on another. But these are strange days and it may be that for Trump, the TPP is an idea whose time as arrived.
That would be good news for Australia.
Miners change tune on climate change
Peak mining industry body The Minerals Council of Australia has joined the fight on climate.
Easy to point the finger
Demanding we abandon coal for climate is akin to asking NZ to give up love affair with sheep.
Donald Trump’s decision to order his advisers to examine the possibility of the US rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership is potentially excellent news for Australia, but there is a long way to go.