The 45th President of the United States Donald Trump, 70, made an official announcement that his administration ends U.S.’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), immediately after he took office on January 20.
The TPP free trade pack will not come into effect if the U.S. is not a part of it. U.S.’s withdrawal from the Partnership has made it decisive for the TPP to be getting further adrift during years to come.
U.S. President Trump delivered an inaugural address, repeatedly promising “America first.”
The presidential inauguration speech served to signal that Trump will begin fulfilling his campaign promises such as a protective trade policy.
It becomes more of a real possibility for Trump’s new administration to demand other countries, including Japan, to have free trade agreements (FTAs) or take part in bilateral trade negotiations with U.S.
Countries joining these negotiations could be forced to liberalize their markets much more than they did in the TPP free trade negotiations.
On January 2o, the Japanese Government notified the Government of New Zealand, which is designated as a depositary of the TPP Agreement, of the completion of Japan’s domestic procedures for the TPP.
However, the official announcement made by the U.S. new administration headed by Donald Trump made it impossible to foresee when the TPP trade deal will take effect.