Trump vows to withdraw from TPP 'on day one'

Donald Trump gives the thumbs up as he arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

TOKYO // An Asia-Pacific trade deal stands almost no chance of working now that US president-elect Donald Trump has pulled the plug on it, proponents of the pact said on Tuesday.

Mr Trump on Monday announced the United States would signal its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on his first day in the White House, as one of six immediate steps aimed at “putting America first”.

The Republican billionaire – who for 10 days has been sounding out cabinet picks at his Trump Tower offices in New York – made the pledge in a short video message.

The 70-year-old property tycoon outlined a list of priorities for his first 100 days and executive actions to be taken “on day one” in a push to “reform Washington and rebuild our middle class”.

“My agenda will be based on a simple core principle: putting America first,” said the president-elect, whose victorious campaign tapped the anger of working-class Americans who feel left behind by globalisation, singling out trade deals such as the TPP as key culprits.

“On trade, I am going to issue our notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country,” said Mr Trump, who takes office January 20.

“Instead, we will negotiate fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores,” he said.

Both the 12-nation TPP and the North American Free Trade Agreement – accused of harming the US economy and jobs – featured heavily in the brutal White House race.

Asian leaders have been scrambling to save the TPP, and US trade representative Michael Froman warned last week that scrapping it would have “serious” strategic and economic costs.

Japan and Australia expressed their commitment to the pact on Tuesday.

Mr Trump’s declaration appeared to snuff out any hopes for the deal, a signature trade initiative of president Barack Obama, five years in the making and meant to cover 40 per cent of the world economy.

The TPP, which aims to cut trade barriers in some of Asia’s fastest-growing economies and stretch from Canada to Vietnam, cannot take effect without the US. It requires the ratification of at least six countries accounting for 85 per cent of the combined GDP of the member nations.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said “the TPP would be meaningless without the United States” even as parliament continued debating ratification and his government vowed to lobby other members to approve it.

However, Australian trade minister Steven Ciobo said countries could push ahead with the TPP without the US by amending the agreement and possibly adding new members.

“We could look at, for example, if China or Indonesia or another country wanted to join, saying, ‘Yes, we open the door for them signing up to the agreement as well’.”

But Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said reopening negotiations will not be easy. “If you sign a fresh agreement, you have to go through it again. We haven’t crossed that bridge yet. We’ll cross it if and when we come to that.”

* Reuters and Agence France-Presse