Secy of State pick breaks with Trump on trade pact
AFP, Washington :
Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday he is not against the recently negotiated Asia-Pacific free-trade deal, putting him at odds with the president-elect who has vowed to scrap it.
“I do not oppose TPP,” said Tillerson, the former chief executive of ExxonMobil, referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated by 12 nations including the United States and Japan, which would encompass some 40 percent of the global economy.
“I share some of (Trump’s) views regarding whether the agreement that was negotiated serves all of America’s interests best,” he added during his lengthy confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His brief comments on trade break with the position of his would-be boss. On the campaign trail last year Trump repeatedly vowed to tear up the TPP and other trade pacts on his first day in office on January 20.
In November, two weeks after his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump released a video in which he reiterated his pledge.
On day one, Trump said, “I am going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country.”
He said he would replace it with “fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores.”
Japan’s parliament ratified the TPP-which does not include China-in December, but it was largely viewed as an empty gesture owing to Trump’s opposition.
The likely demise of the TPP was welcomed in November by state media in China, where the deal had been criticized as a naked attempt to boost US influence in the region and contain the Asian giant.
Meanwhile, pointing toward possible confrontation, Donald Trump’s selection for secretary of state likened Beijing’s island-building in the South China Sea to a takeover of another country’s territory and spoke of forcing Beijing to fully apply sanctions on North Korea.
China will likely be alarmed by former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s Senate confirmation hearing remarks on Wednesday. While they focused largely on Russia, reflecting Tillerson’s past relationship with its President Vladimir Putin and allegations of Russian hacking into the U.S. election, his testimony on China presented a sharp change in tone from the Obama administration’s focus on cooperation.
Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday he is not against the recently negotiated Asia-Pacific free-trade deal, putting him at odds with the president-elect who has vowed to scrap it.
“I do not oppose TPP,” said Tillerson, the former chief executive of ExxonMobil, referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated by 12 nations including the United States and Japan, which would encompass some 40 percent of the global economy.
“I share some of (Trump’s) views regarding whether the agreement that was negotiated serves all of America’s interests best,” he added during his lengthy confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His brief comments on trade break with the position of his would-be boss. On the campaign trail last year Trump repeatedly vowed to tear up the TPP and other trade pacts on his first day in office on January 20.
In November, two weeks after his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump released a video in which he reiterated his pledge.
On day one, Trump said, “I am going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country.”
He said he would replace it with “fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores.”
Japan’s parliament ratified the TPP-which does not include China-in December, but it was largely viewed as an empty gesture owing to Trump’s opposition.
The likely demise of the TPP was welcomed in November by state media in China, where the deal had been criticized as a naked attempt to boost US influence in the region and contain the Asian giant.
Meanwhile, pointing toward possible confrontation, Donald Trump’s selection for secretary of state likened Beijing’s island-building in the South China Sea to a takeover of another country’s territory and spoke of forcing Beijing to fully apply sanctions on North Korea.
China will likely be alarmed by former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s Senate confirmation hearing remarks on Wednesday. While they focused largely on Russia, reflecting Tillerson’s past relationship with its President Vladimir Putin and allegations of Russian hacking into the U.S. election, his testimony on China presented a sharp change in tone from the Obama administration’s focus on cooperation.
