TPP minus America will be a rudderless boat
Undoubtedly, America's President-elect Donald J Trump's decision to withdraw from the historic Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will derail the pact sooner than later. Sources say that Trump’s intent, to pull back from the TPP, emerged because he had a feeling that the deal will be a disaster for America. Additionally, his decision has been influenced by rising demands from the middle class which feared more job cuts back home. It can thus be concluded that Trump is more concerned about the disaffected working class than his country's predominant role that was set by outgoing President Barack Obama through the TPP.
Arguably, the agreement could have offered the US another force to perhaps push trade in one of the most resourceful corridors across the globe. As China is out of the TPP, America's interests would have got better protection under the deal. It has been estimated that TPP signatories cover more than 40 per cent of the global economy. Therefore, the US moving out of the agreement may indicate that it will carry very little weight in future. Putting aside all the negatives, Trump also signals for better and larger bilateral trade pacts which will help bring back jobs and industry to his homeland. However, locals losing opportunities in this post-globalisation age, is nothing new.
And Trump's policy initiative to cancel America's engagement with the trade deal will have serious repercussions on the country's long-standing regional allies in the Asia-Pacific zone. Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his discomfort over Trump's announcement on the TPP. For Abe, the pact hardly carries any potential without America's presence. Indeed, reports say that though he was the first foreign leader to meet Trump after his election victory, he failed to coax the latter from his ‘America first' policy. It appears that Trump's willingness to rip up the TPP may have shocked Abe, as the new President has already agreed to come down on other campaign threats like reducing Washington's security commitments to his country and South Korea.
Or is it that Trump is pushing back the TPP as it was a signature achievement of ObamaIJ Does this go on to show that he is on his way to re-write American history by doing something novelIJ Is it that his administration will be centered around the gospel of ‘protectionism'IJ Obama's rhetoric must be downplayed and Trump must see that America rises again as a great power. America's rise offers more opportunities than problems. In TPP, Trump could have scripted a new future for the US. But it seems there would be almost no chance to renegotiate the TPP deal. Trump should have given a second thought before withdrawing from the Asia-Pacific trade deal. He may have reservations, but hard work and long negotiation process through which all the 12 nations have reached the current status of the deal, deserves reconsideration.