Economic security

WHAT THE DEATH OF THE T.P.P. MEANS FOR AMERICA

President Donald Trump today signed the death warrant for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Throughout the Presidential campaign, the T.P.P. was discussed almost exclusively at high volume, with exclamation points present or implied. Its opponents, who include those in the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, as well as Trump, argued variously that it would destroy jobs and the environment and strengthen China. Pro-trade members of the Obama Administration argued that the T.P.P. would “help increase Made-in-America exports, grow the American economy, support well-paying American jobs, and strengthen the American middle class.” These words were on the Web site of the Office of the United States Trade Representative on Monday morning, but by midday they had disappeared, replaced by “America First Trade Policy.”