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2017 In-House Persp. [1] (2017)

handle is hein.journals/inhouse13 and id is 1 raw text is: American presidency: Trump brings seven years of TPP negotiations to an abrupt halt It was one of his first executive acts in office. Exactly as he foretold, a few days after his election victory, President Trump signed an order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), bringing seven years of negotiation to an abrupt halt. Trump's reasons were that the mega-regional trade agreement between twelve countries (including long sought- after trading partner Japan) was 'harmful' to American trade and American jobs: 'a potential disaster for the country'. Though the deal had not been agreed by US Congress and so the withdrawal will not have any direct effect on international trade law and practice of the signatory countries, this does not mean that it is purely symbolic. It is a warning light of a more protectionist policy agenda to come. Trump has taken the US out of the Eric driver's seat of the most important trade Emerson negotiation since the creation of the World Trade Organisation Eric Emerson Partner, Steptoe, Washington and Co-Senior Vice-Chair, IBA International Trade and Customs Committee 'Trump has taken the US out of the driver's seat of the most important trade negotiation since the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),' says Eric Emerson (pictured), Co-Senior Vice-Chair of the IBA's International Trade and Customs Committee and partner at Steptoe in Washington. 'TPP has bold new rules in distinctly new areas. Its failure would be a major set-back.' The future of TPP itself is not certain: it cannot be ratified without the US and it was a US-led deal. The US media expressed fears that TPP will fall apart and China, which has been pushing its own trade deal, the so-called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), may decide to take up the reins. 'The US pull-out does not mean that global trade negotiations won't go on, it just means they will go on without us,' says Emerson. These concerns may be justified. In a series of recent high-profile international summits, China's leader, Xi Jinping, hinted at China's trade ambitions and appears, ironically, to have become a spokesperson for globalisation and free trade. At the APEC summit in November he stated: 'China will not shut the door to the outside world but will open it even wider'. The future of other '21st century' trade agreements is also not certain. The TPP is (or was?) a new type of trade agreement. It encompasses a range of initiatives not limited to basic free trade packages (reducing tariffs and customs). It also includes chapters on intellectual property rights, ensuring minimum labour and environmental