https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-25/r-i-p-tpp
In the first few days of Trumps administration he has taken several executive actions. One in particularly had been in the works for many years it was also subject to attacks from both Trump and Clintom during the election campaign. TPP or the Trans Pacific Partnership was more than just another "free trade" deal as Trump would label it. It provided protections for labor including freedom of association, prohibitions on forced or child labor, and the right to collectively bargain. It also would've benefited corporations as well as it allowed for them to receive intellectual protection all the way to being treated the same as local business in the countries that signed the agreement.
It seems that the very things that Trump had talked about needing to do to improve trade like protecting the American worker and more would've been covered in TPP. Although some did question if it were possible to enforce the rules outlined in it. It still seems like it would be an improvement from the current situation.
5 comments:
Given the immense anti-China rhetoric that we've seen from Trump, it seems almost counterproductive to drop the TPP. On top of the improvements in labor protection that were offered in the plan, the TPP would also be a potentially powerful economic force to combat Chinese growth. This policy was part of Obama's "pivot to the East" and if China is going to be our enemy in the Trump administration then this policy would be useful in that case.
We should also take note of China's proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which would create a trade agreement between countries such as China, Japan, S. Korea, India and Australia. The nations involved in the trade agreement comprise roughly 27% of global GDP and could potentially be an unsettling economic force in the region if the US wants to move forward with the aggressive language that has been used by Trump so far.
While I agree that dropping the TPP is unwise, it seems to be something that both the socialist Democrats (Sanders supporters) and staunch Republicans (Trump supporters) agreed on. I think domestically it was portrayed very negatively given how it would lead to lots of manufacturing jobs moving away overseas. While economically it might have been beneficial in the long run, dropping the TPP was certainly representative of what the people wanted (not saying they were right).
Hypothetically if the United States did continue to be a part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, how would you solve the crisis of thousands of people out of jobs?
While there may not be a concrete solution for short term unemployment, especially in the manufacturing sector, but in the long term re-training programs and potentially hefty severance packages can help them out.
I also think since being in the TPP would mean access to a broader market bloc, lots of new jobs would also be created to supply to the increasing demand, so it might even out in the long term. And the firms that do end up remaining will be forced to become more efficient due to the larger competition and would have actually led to an increase in productivity in the country.
Sometimes popular choices do not lead to optimum outcomes.
Retraining programs may not be the answer for all especially in dying or poorly performing industries (ex. coal, steel, etc.) Also, I do not think that everyone will be willing to take up compensation packages.
Again, I am not saying that the TPP would not have been beneficial to a degree, but given that we live in a democratic, capitalistic market economy it seems to be unfair to not have a proper economic plan in place for the working class (who are majority of the voters, are often under skilled, and may not have the education to make informed choices about themselves).
It is interesting that Trump is following through with everything he promised to change. I still have many questions over his decision regarding the TPP deal. It seems that this deal would have been very beneficial to U.S business and Trump pulling the bid does not seem to make much sense. Following how the public responds to this and how the economy will be effected is going to be important.
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