Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called President Trump’s Monday decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership an error that would weaken the U.S. position in Asia.
“President Trump’s decision to formally withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a serious mistake that will have lasting consequences for America’s economy and our strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region,” McCain said in a statement.
“This decision will forfeit the opportunity to promote American exports, reduce trade barriers, open new markets, and protect American invention and innovation,” McCain said. “It will create an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road at the expense of American workers. And it will send a troubling signal of American disengagement in the Asia-Pacific region at a time we can least afford it.”
The Arizona Republican also called on President Trump and the U.S. to advance a “positive trade agenda” in the Asia-Pacific region. McCain has been a consistent supporter of the deal, saying in November that Trump’s then-impending decision to withdraw from the deal was a “disappointment.”
Trump made the TPP exit official as part of three executive actions he signed Monday morning. He also signed orders instituting a federal hiring freeze on non-military federal workers and to cut off federal funding to foreign organizations that provide abortions.
