Donald Trump orders aides to examine rejoining Trans Pacific Partnership

Donald Trump tempers his enthusiasm for rejoining, tweeting he’d only want a ‘substantially better deal’ than Obama got.

Donald Trump at the White House. Picture: AFP.

Donald Trump appears this afternoon to have tempered his initial enthusiasm to examine the possibility of the US re-entering the Trans Pacific Partnership, tweeting that he’d only want a “substantially better deal” than was offered to Barack Obama.

The President had earlier today ordered his senior economic and trade advisers to examine the possibility of the United States rejoining the 11-nation TPP, reportedly saying: “Go get it done.”

The surprise move, which comes just over a year after he withdrew from the TPP, would if enacted dramatically recast trade across the Asia-Pacific and act as a powerful symbolic boost for global free trade.

Mr Trump had directed his economic adviser Larry Kudlow and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to immediately examine the feasibility of the US re-entering the agreement.

But later on Friday, however, Mr Trump tempered the move by saying he would only be prepared to rejoin the pact if there was a “substantially better” deal than the one the Obama administration negotiated.

“Would only join TPP if the deal were substantially better than the deal offered to Pres. Obama. We already have bilateral deals with six of the eleven nations in TPP, and are working to make a deal with the biggest of those nations, Japan, who has hit us hard on trade for years!” he tweeted.

Would only join TPP if the deal were substantially better than the deal offered to Pres. Obama. We already have BILATERAL deals with six of the eleven nations in TPP, and are working to make a deal with the biggest of those nations, Japan, who has hit us hard on trade for years!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2018

So far Australia and Japan welcomed the initial renewed enthusiam from the President.

“Isn’t it good that President Trump is looking at the TPP and you know if I had taken Bill Shorten’s advice and walked away from the TPP when America did there would be nothing for America to consider returning to,” Malcolm Turnbull said.

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said: “If it’s true, I would welcome it” but warned Mr Trump was quick to change positions.

“(Mr Trump) is a person who could change temperamentally, so he may say something different the next day”, Mr Aso reportedly said.

Mr Trump gave the order during a meeting with senators of agricultural states concerned about the impact of a tariff war between the US and China. The possible re-entry of the US into the TPP is seen as a way of helping US farmers who fear they will he hurt by new retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on US agricultural products.

One of the senators, Ben Sasse, said: “At the meeting, (Trump) heard a concerted group of people that understand the value of TPP. And he directed Larry Kudlow and Ambassador Lighthizer in the meeting to lead the negotiation of the US’s possible re-engagement in TPP.

“The President multiple times reaffirmed in general to all of us and looked right at Larry Kudlow and said, ‘Larry, go get it done,” Senator Sasse said.

“If that happens, that’s huge news.”

Another Senator at the meeting, John Thune, said those at the meeting raised the point with Mr Trump that “if you really want to get China’s attention, one way to do it is start doing business with all the people they’re doing business with in the region: their competitors.”

Mr Trump then told Mr Lighthizer and Mr Kudlow to “take a look at getting us back into that agreement, on our terms of course,” Senator Thune said. “He was very, I would say, bullish about that.”

In recent months Mr Trump has floated the possibility that the US could rejoin the TPP if its terms were renegotiated on terms more favourable to the US.

But this is the first time that he has proactively ordered his team to properly examine the possible re-entry of the US back into the TPP.

Mr Turnbull has said previously that the TPP has been designed to allow for the smooth re-entry of the US if and when Washington chose to join the pact.

After hearing the news, Australia’s ambassador in Washington Joe Hockey said Australia would welcome the US rejoining the TPP if that eventuated. “Everyone would love the US to join,” he said.

Mr Trump withdrew the US from the TPP pact shortly after he assumed office last year, after warning during his 2016 election campaign that he would do so because it was a “disaster” which did not serve America’s economic interests.

He pulled out in January 2017 and the remaining 11 countries, including Australia, regrouped and signed the a new-look TPP in March.

The examination by the US of re-entering the TPP comes in the shadow of a possible trade war between the US and Beijing, which both countries threatening to levy significant tariffs on each other.

“We should be leading TPP,” Senator Sasse said. “China is a bunch of cheaters and the best way to push back on their cheating would be to be leading all these other rule of law nations in the Pacific that would rather be aligned with the US than with China.”

Mr Trump was aggressively against the TPP in 2016, saying: “The Trans-Pacific Partnership is another disaster done and pushed by special interests who want to rape our country.

“Just a continuing rape of our country. That’s what it is, too. It’s a harsh word — it’s a rape of our country. This is done by wealthy people that want to take advantage of us and that want to sign another partnership.”

Mr Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, once a strong supporter of the TPP, had also promised that she would pull the US out of the TPP if she was elected.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia