Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom after attending the Trump Organization civil fraud trial, in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., November 6, 2023. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
FORT DODGE, Iowa 鈥� Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, said on Saturday that he would kill off a being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden if he were to win the 2024 election and return to the White House.
Speaking to supporters in Iowa, Trump said he was against the regional trade deal being negotiated by the Biden administration with 13 other countries, arguing that it would hollow out U.S. manufacturing and trigger job losses.
Talks on the trade sections of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is aimed at offering the region an alternative to China鈥檚 growing trade clout, stumbled in recent days after some countries, including Vietnam and Indonesia, declined to commit to strong labor and environmental standards.
Trump, who withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal that had been forged with many of the same countries after taking office in January 2017, said he would 鈥渒nock out鈥� what he referred to as 鈥淭PP Two鈥� immediately upon taking office.
鈥淯nder the next administration鈥� the Biden plan for 鈥楾PP Two鈥� will be dead on day one,鈥� Trump said at a campaign event in Fort Dodge, about 94 miles (150 km) north of Des Moines.
鈥淚t鈥檚 worse than the first one, threatening to pulverize farmers and manufacturers with another massive globalist monstrosity designed to turbocharge outsourcing to Asia.鈥�
The Biden administration had hoped to finish key chapters of its IPEF trade initiative in time for this week鈥檚 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting. It has vowed to continue negotiating the ambitious deal, but election-year pressures and resistance to tough commitments from some countries make a deal unlikely, trade experts and business groups say.