Distance Makes Trump ' s Heart Grow Fonder for the TPP?

Picking up on Simon Lester ’sreaction on Friday to President Trump ’s near 180-degree rhetorical pivot on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, I agree with the implication that one would be ill advised to set his watch to the man’s words. However, there are plenty of good reasons for Trump to change his mind and seek to rejoin the TPP, so maybe—just maybe—the pre sident is beginning to see the bigger picture.Before the 2016 election, I wrote apiece inForbes explaining why any president would want the tools of the TPP at his or her disposal and predicted that the next president (despite both major party candidates disavowing it) would ultimately support it:The TPP is a blueprint for securing U.S. geoeconomic and geopolitical interests now and into the future by updating the rules and institutions of international trade that facilitated 70 years of global economic expansion, poverty reduction, and relative peace. As an agreement that includes countries on four continents, the TPP is well-suited to fill the void created by the breakdown of the multilateral negotiating “round” approach to global trade liberalization. The TPP is open the new members and the fact that it has achieved critical mass (40% of global GDP represented) means that the cost of remaining outside the deal will rise with every new accession, so most eligible countries will choose to join.As investment has begun to shift from TPP outsiders to TPP members in anticipation of implementation, non-members ha...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs