AFL-CIO Praises President Trump’s Move to Withdraw from TPP, Renegotiate NAFTA, Target Big Pharma

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka praised GOP President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership once and for all on Monday with an executive order officially killing the Pacific Rim trade deal.
Trumka also praised the decision by President Trump to reopen negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal from the 1990s, a deal that saw millions of U.S. jobs leave the country for Mexico and Canada—and the labor union leader praised President Trump’s harsh words for Big Pharma, the pharmaceutical industry, when Trump said of that industry that “they’re politically protected, but not anymore” in an interview with the Washington Post.

Trumka said in his Monday statement:


Last year, a powerful coalition of labor, environmental, consumer, public health and allied groups came together to stop the TPP. Today’s announcement that the US is withdrawing from TPP and seeking a reopening of NAFTA is an important first step toward a trade policy that works for working people. While these are necessary actions, they aren’t enough. They are just the first in a series of necessary policy changes required to build a fair and just global economy. We will continue our relentless campaign to create new trade and economic rules that end special privileges for foreign investors and Big Pharma, protect our planet’s precious natural resources and ensure fair pay, safe conditions and a voice in the workplace for all workers.”

While labor unions’ politically motivated leaders by and large supported Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016’s presidential election, it is no surprise that President Trump won over many of the workers throughout the union structure. Trump’s populist appeal to American workers in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio was critical to his landslide electoral college victory, when he stunned the bi-coastal political, financial, and cultural elites in places like New York City, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles with a 306 electoral vote landslide win over Clinton on Nov. 8.

The media and political class have struggled to understand the matter since, with many still refusing to make course corrections after their failures. Trump has met with labor leaders and industry leaders, bringing them together on key issues like trade and fighting corruption—building an entirely new political coalition while the Democratic Party debates about how far to the extreme left to veer with a race for the Democratic National Committee chairmanship coming down to two extreme progressives, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, both of whom oppose good trade deals and immigration controls that Trump and his new coalition support.

Now, the Chinese take over the leadership of the 40% of the World's economy around the Pacific Rim. The Chinese were going to become dominant, eventually but I'm sure that they can hardly believe their luck to have regional hegemony just handed to them after 75 years of American dominance.

There is no other conclusion. The Americans have dropped the ball.

Washington (AFP) - The White House warned China on Monday that the United States will defend "international interests" in the South China Sea and that trade must be a "two-way street."

At his first formal daily briefing, President Donald Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer defended the incoming administration's wary stance on ties with Beijing.

Spicer was asked about a suggestion by Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, that Washington should prevent China from building islands in disputed waters.

And, while he did not go so far as Tillerson had done in a confirmation hearing last week, Spice signalled a more robust stance towards keeping South China Sea waters open.

"I think the US is going to make sure we protect our interests there," he said.

"If those islands are, in fact, in international waters and not part of China proper, yeah, we'll make sure we defend international interests from being taken over by one country."

China lays claim to a vast extent of the South China Sea within a so-called "nine dash line," including waters claimed by several of its neighbors.

Under the former US administration of president Barack Obama, Washington insisted it was neutral on the legal question of sovereignty over the islets, reefs and shoals.

But, while calling for the dispute to be resolved under international law, the US supported freedom of navigation by sending naval patrols through Chinese-claimed turf.

Last week, former ExxonMobil chief executive Tillerson suggested a hardening of this stance, calling China's building of bases on the disputed islands illegal.

"We're going to have to send China a clear signal that, first the island building stops, and second, your access to those islands is also not going to be allowed," he said.

Tillerson's remarks raised the prospect of a confrontation between the world's two greatest powers, and Spicer did nothing to walk them back from the White House podium.

He also took a tough line on trade, returning to Trump's campaign theme that existing rules favor Chinese exports to the United States and cost American jobs.

Spicer said that Trump is aware that US firms need access to China's large domestic market, but that he is not prepared to accept that current arrangements continue.

"In many cases, it's not a two-way street," he argued.

"There's so many Chinese businesses and individuals frankly, who can have ease of access in the United States to sell their goods or services," he said.

Spicer cited limits on the penetration of US financial and banking services in China, and noted the difficulties of US firms protecting their intellectual property rights.

"So, he understands the market that China has and our desire to further penetrate that market," Spicer argued.

"But he also recognizes there are a lot of concerns with how we are treated entering into China's market and we need to review that," he warned.

Trump isn't playing ball with the fucking Chinese.

The Chinese will just ignore him as they gradually take over economic control of the Pacific Rim, then become the # 1 power in the world by the end of the decade.

It didn't have to be this way but America has just chosen to be insular and protectionist, just like they were in the 1930s and China is going to walk right by them.