MOSCOW: On his first day in office following the inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump delivered on one of his electoral promises by signing a decree to withdraw the U.S. from the TPP agreement. Trump described the move as a huge victory for American workers.
Earlier, the U.S. reported it was prepared to take action against countries breaching trade agreements, and demanded a revision of the terms and conditions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, in order to make it “fairer.” The Trump administration said that reducing the U.S. trade deficit with its largest partners is the primary mission of its new trade policy. In the case of China, which Trump believes devalues the yuan in order to support exports, that deficit exceeded $290 billion over the first 10 months of 2016.
International experts are warning that a unilateral hike in tariffs may backfire on the U.S. Speaking at the Davos forum, World Trade Organization (WTO) head Roberto Azevedo reminded the audience about the risks of the domino effect, when reciprocal tariff hikes result in a sharp reduction in both imports and exports.
