美国总统川普星期四下令他的最高经济和贸易顾问们考虑重新加入跨太平洋合作关系协定(TPP)。去年,在上任总统三天后,川普宣布放弃美国与11个国家签订的这项贸易协定。
来自农业州的议员们在白宫参加了农业贸易问题的会议后说,川普让他的新任经济顾问拉里·库德洛和美国贸易代表罗伯特莱特希泽考虑重新加入TPP有什么好处。这项协定是前总统奥巴马时期谈判达成的。
川普经常表明他更喜欢美国与其它国家达成双边贸易协定,而不是多边协定。他认为,在那些大范围贸易协定中,美国得不到好处。他为什么现在愿意考虑重新加入TPP,目前还不清楚。
TPP没有包括仅次于美国的世界第二大经济实体中国。在美国退出TPP之后。另外11个国家自行达成协议并在上个月签署了《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(CPTPP)。
在川普把记者请走之前的会议开场发言期间,川普让议员们放心,在中国发出新的关税威胁以及美国和加拿大与墨西哥紧张谈判之际,他打算为美国的农民谋求更好的贸易协定。
他说:“当我们一切都完成的时候,将会很好的。农民们的情形会非常的棒。农业会得到100%的照料。”
这位美国领导人说,“中国一向对美国农民很差”,他提到北京禁止销售美国牛肉长达14年,直到去年才解禁。
最近,川普宣布打算对价值1500亿美元的中国进口产品征收新的或更高的关税之后,中国表示将对一系列的美国产品征收新的关税,这些产品包括小麦、大豆、玉米、蔓越莓和橙汁,这让美国农民担心他们的生计受到了威胁。
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered his top economic and trade advisers to look into rejoining the Pacific-rim trade pact with 11 other countries that he abandoned last year three days after he assumed power.
Farm-state lawmakers, after attending a White House meeting on agricultural trade, said Trump told his new economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to weigh the benefits of re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership that had been negotiated by the administration of former President Barack Obama.
Trump has often stated his preference for bilateral trade deals, the United States with one other country, rather than multinational pacts, in the belief that the United States does not fare well in bigger trade deals. It was not immediately clear why he now is open to rejoining the TPP.
After the U.S. dropped out of the Pacific-rim deal — one that did not include China, the world’s second biggest economy after the U.S. — the 11 remaining countries formed their own pact, signing a deal last month called the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership.
During opening statements at the meeting before Trump shooed out reporters, he assured the lawmakers that he intends to negotiate better trade deals for the American farmer in the face of threatened new Chinese tariffs and as contentious negotiations evolve with Canada and Mexico.
“It’ll be very good when we get it all finished,” Trump said. “The farmers will do fantastically well. Agriculture will be taken care of 100 percent.”
The U.S. leader contended that “China has consistently treated the American farmer very poorly,” noting that Beijing had until last year blocked U.S. beef sales for 14 years.
Now, in response to Trump’s announced intention to impose new or higher tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports, China says it will impose new levies on an array of U.S. exports, including wheat, soybeans, corn, cranberries and orange juice, raising fears among U.S. farmers that their livelihoods are threatened.