Treasury Secretary Mentions U.S. Possibly Re-joining TPP

It’s been over a year since President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the multinational Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the U.S. is willing to discuss possibly rejoining the trade pact. He spoke recently at an investment summit meeting sponsored by the U.S. Chamber. According to Mnuchin, renegotiating the agreement is “absolutely on the table” and he’s been in contact with the other countries about what it would take for the United States to reverse course.

The New York Times says the president appears to have found renewed interest in an agreement he once described as “the rape of our country.”

Mnuchin says, “I’ve met with several of my counterparts and we’ve begun to have very high-level conversations about TPP. While it’s not a priority at the moment, it’s something the president will consider.”

Trump opened the door to possibly looking again at the agreement at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. “If we did a substantially better deal,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC, “I would be open to TPP.”

During his remarks, Mnuchin said those comments were “quite significant” and yielded positive reaction around the world. However, the 11 countries remaining in the soon-to-be-signed TPP were a little more cautious in their reactions to the idea.

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.

Image credit: By United States Department of the Treasury – Department of Treasury, Public Domain, Link