TRUMP PULLS U.S. OUT OF TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (TPP)

Japan Today Jan. 24, 2017
Trump pulls U.S. out of TPP; raps Japan, China over trade

My Comment: 

The TPP, as I understand it, among other things would have set a common standard for environmental responsibility and worker health and safety standards. These would be above the present standards set it some countries, but below those in the U.S., providing American corporations with a pretext to increase profits by lowering their standards to the detriment of the environment and worker wellbeing. Moreover, TPP would have, in some cases, overridden U.S. laws and judicial processes, subordinating them to the terms of the agreement and adjudication by international tribunals. I see merit in the Trump administration argument that TPP gave all signatories equal stature as the U.S., thereby bargaining away the bilateral negotiating advantages the U.S. possesses by virtue of the relative size of its market. 
I disagree with McCain's assessment in the article:

“It will create an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road at the expense of American workers,” he [Sen. John McCain] said. “And it will send a troubling signal of American disengagement in the Asia-Pacific region at a time we can least afford it.”

Trump is neither proposing to disengage in the Asia-Pacific region nor creating an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road, but rather is proposing to negotiate bilateral, rather than multilateral agreements with countries in the region, thereby preserving America's innate negotiating advantage while not surrendering attributes of sovereignty to international treaties and tribunals. Got to give the devil his due, Trump knows a thing or two about negotiating deals. 

I also see merit in Trump’s negotiating stance with China, namely that China should agree to level the playing field in trade by reducing its tariffs to levels comparable to the U.S., removing other self-serving impediments to U.S. entry into Chinese markets and desisting from manipulating its currency exchange rate (undervaluing the yuan to favor its exporters). However, Trump’s negotiating stance can only succeed if China is able to adequately shift its impetus for growth from exports to domestic consumption. They’ve been doing so for several years, but whether the Chinese economy can continue to thrive on domestic demand after giving up some of the advantages protectionism has afforded its exporters is an open question. If it can’t, Trump’s attempts to force the issue could result in retaliation in the form of the Chinese dumping their U.S. Treasurys on the market, thereby driving up U.S. interest rates, throwing the economy into a slump and sending stocks into a tailspin, at which point the Chinese could swoop in and scoop up the crown jewels of corporate America for a song. Much the same reasoning applies to Japan. 

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