Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue reportedly told senators Tuesday that he advised President Donald Trump to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the latest of a series of contradictory statements from Trump and his administration about the trade deal.
Trump has been inconsistent on the issue since pulling out by executive order in January. Within a short period, he has ordered aides to look at rejoining the TPP and also tweeted: “I don’t like the deal for the United States. Too many contingencies and no way to get out if it doesn’t work.”
The TPP was a signature piece of former President Barack Obama’s Asia policy, a way to band together with other nations to balance out China’s power. According to the Washington Post, the debate around the TPP reveals greater schisms within the Republican party over trade, as Trump’s protectionist inclinations clash with GOP lawmakers’ concern for their agricultural base.
Donald Trump would be overwhelmed managing a fricking Dairy Queen.
Making money in real estate is apparently far easier than I had assumed.
Might as well approach this, Sonnyboy, the way you faced down an extensive and devastating drought in your state.
There are some who consider that threatening to quit gives you leverage, at least on a temporary basis. But actually quitting and then asking for your job back removes any current or future leverage you may aspire to have.
Fat Nixon quit and now he or his admin believe that the US can rejoin the TPP and still be seen as one of the power players. Sorry kids, the rest of the world has moved on and, if they do allow the US to rejoin, we have lost all leverage not just because we quit but because we can no longer be seen as a reliable partner.
Nice work, red state farmers!
Crawling back and expecting to be re-offered the same deal from which you walked away contemptuously… I’m not sure that has a great track record.